Caboose

Starred review from November 15, 2024
A class of anthropomorphic animals is thrown into disarray. As this snazzily clad classroom menagerie is lining up, the book's narrator--an energetic hippo--is at the front, leading the way as always. The other students become irritated at the hippo's over-the-top hijinks ("I can make everyone go fast. I can make everyone go slow. I can suddenly stop and make everyone crash"), amusingly showcased across various double-page spreads, as well as at our hero's smug sense of power. When the hippo's attempts to get to the front go too far one day, the teacher banishes the protagonist to the titular back of the line. The hippo takes to the new place in line very quickly. While "caboosin' it up," the protagonist barely avoids a serious accident and is relegated to the middle of the line. Now a part of the group, the hippo eventually acclimates to the new spot and connects with the others, while still embracing a sense of mischief and whimsy. Jonker and Chan have created a chaotic yet hilarious story grounded in real childhood emotions. Jonker's first-person text is full of repetition and short sentences, making this an ideal choice for a read-aloud. Chan's action-filled signature ink and digital color illustrations further ramp up the zaniness. Many young readers (and their exasperated parents and teachers) will recognize the protagonist and relate to the emotional journey outlined here. Don't bring up the rear! Be the first in line to read this laugh-out-loud story.(Picture book. 5-8)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from November 11, 2024
Narrator Hippo loves being first in line among all the anthropomorphized animal students at school—Jonker (Just One Flake) writes, “I can make everyone go fast, I can make everyone go slow. I can suddenly stop and make everyone crash. Oh, the power!” Slice-of-life drawings by Chan (Rick the Rock of Room 214) show Hippo employing myriad tactics to achieve front-of-line status, ranging from subterfuge (comically and intricately mapping a circuitous path through the playground) to naked aggression (startling schoolmates with a move that Hippo dubs “the feral troll”). Eventually, though, Hippo tries one line-heading ploy too many, too close to the teacher, and is relegated to class line “caboose,” a move that results in Hippo’s cultivating back-of-line expertise that goes “too far.” Finally, the teacher hits on a new solution: scooting Hippo to the middle of the line. It’s just the move, geographic and emotional, that the character needs, and one that helps Hippo truly appreciate collaborative skills, like skipping arm in arm. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Stephen Barbara, InkWell Management. Illustrator’s agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House.

January 1, 2025
Preschool-Grade 2 Our unnamed, ungendered hippo narrator explains that, as the line leader in this classroom of various animals, they can make everyone go fast, or slow, or even crash, and they revel in that power. They proudly demonstrate a number of ways to be first--"The barrel roll. The feral troll. The obstacle course"--while indifferent to their impact on others. When they are banished to the end of the line, they figure out new ways to move ("caboosin' it up"), only to be left behind because they are once again too absorbed in their own actions. Reassigned to the middle, our hippo finally learns to move through the world in ways that include their classmates, and ultimately they find their happy place there. The illustrations add depth to the text, showing how the oblivious narrator's actions affect others. Enthusiastic, active readers may recognize themselves in these pages, and the adults in their lives will smile at the hippo's creativity while appreciating this good-natured opening for a conversation about personal space and empathy for others.

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