Joey and Jet: Book 1 of Their Adventures

While playing fetch with his loyal dog, a young boy throws the ball a bit too far and soon the enthusiastic pet is off on a citywide adventure--tracking its every bounce, roll, and hop along the way before bringing it back.

Kindergarten-Grade 2–A young boy and his pup play a game of fetch, moving through a landscape of prepositions along the way. Jet chases the ball through trees, up and down hills, across the street, and into and out of a hole, among other things. Predictably, he brings the ball back to Joey, who starts the preposition run again with a simple command of "fetch!" Touted as the first of their adventures, this book will win fans with its simple text and retro-style illustrations rendered in a non-retro digital pen and ink. Larger public libraries and most school libraries will want to fetch copies for themselves.–Lisa Gangemi Kropp, Middle Country Public Library, Centereach, NY
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PreS-Gr. 2. Joey (a boy) and Jet (his dog) have a simple adventure that is enhanced by a digital format. Joey, a round-headed kid (think Charlie Brown for the twenty-first century) has a ball. His black-and-white dog (yes, a little Snoopy-like) watches as Joey tosses it. Jet chases it--among the birds, through the trees, on the water, up and down the hill. Jet finally brings the ball back, only to have Joey throw it again. Intensely visual, this also provides a way for children to get the feel of prepositions, which are in boldface, and the way they relate to space: the ball goes between tables and over the roof. But it's the artwork that's the draw here. Using digital pen-and-ink, Yang has created simple yet intriguing landscapes. For instance, trees are black crooked lines overlaid with lime-green leaves set against a mottled-orange background. Groups of tables and chairs are identical, but their 1950s shapes and colors make them standouts. Fun to look at, this is a clever, energetic romp. Ilene Cooper
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