Billy and Belle - Hardcover

Garland, Sarah

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670843962 ISBN 13: 9780670843961

Publisher: Viking Juvenile, 1992

Synopsis

A newborn baby and the exciting confusion of Pet Day at school combine to make a very special day for Billy and Belle

About this title

Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 2-- Billy and Belle are eagerly anticipating the birth of a new sibling, but the impending arrival does not overshadow their excitement about pet day at school. Toddler Belle is allowed to accompany her brother for the day, but, unfortunately, she has no pet to share. Following her brother's suggestion, she captures a large spider, but keeping track of it leads to all sorts of pandemonium. At the end of the day, the children's father picks them up and reports that they have a new little brother. Their mother's arrival home with the tiny infant (the same night!) concludes this picture book. A comic book format leaves plenty of room for the flurry of activity in the homey illustrations, and new details can be spotted upon every reading. School is depicted as a multicultural, stimulating environment, and the children's household is a cozy and cooperative place with a black father and a white mother. Some Briticims are slightly distracting, as when the father and children eat spaghetti for their ``tea.'' Dialogue balloons expand upon the text, which can also stand on its own. Part of this story's charm lies in its portrayal of a new baby fitting so naturally into the normal hustle and bustle of family life. Billy and Belle can be enjoyed on many levels, from the truly funny antics of pet day to the positive portrayal of an interracial family. --Anna DeWind, Milwaukee Pub . Lib .
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Billy and Belle are two siblings whose mother is expecting a baby any minute. When the morning of labor pains arrives, the pair head off to Billy's school with a neighbor while Dad goes to the hospital with Mom. The hours pass, but after Belle's curiosity almost turns the school pet day into a zany zoo, the teachers are happy to see Dad when it's time to go home. Garland's situations hold much potential for a frenzy of action, yet her text is flat and the story line virtually lifeless. The new brother's birth is anticlimactic--the children and Dad hardly seem excited or moved. The animal escapades in the schoolyard don't create much of a ruckus either. Garland's ink and watercolor illustrations are sometimes peppered with talk balloons or broken into small comic book-style panels, which gives her artwork a light mood. Her predominantly subdued palette resonates the warmth appropriate to a familial tale. Of particular note are the endpaper illustrations that show Mom and Dad--a biracial couple--in bed together. Though a natural and even broadening depiction of parents, the situation may need explaining for some children. Ages 3-8.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Today Belle is going to school with big brother Billy for the first time, because Dad (who is black) is taking ``Mom'' (blond) to the hospital: a new baby is coming. It's an exciting day--while trying to find the spider she adopted when she discovered it was ``pet day,'' Belle inadvertently releases all the other pets (tortoise, mouse, caterpillar, etc.), but they're soon found. Home again, after ``tea'' (spaghetti), Dad fetches Mom and baby Adam (the same day). It's good to have a new-baby book that focuses on the drama of the older children's activities. Garland's pleasantly informal illustrations--in varied spreads and frames with the dialogue in comic-strip balloons--nicely convey the family's warmth and the school's lively clutter. But: it's an obviously British book with universal appeal, and multicultural is in--so why these clumsy efforts to deny the authentic setting? (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Viking Juvenile
• Publication date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0670843962
• ISBN 13: 9780670843961
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320