Jazlyn J’s Favourite Parts of the Day. Renná Bruce. Illustrated by Robin Oakes. Guelph, ON: Jazlyn J and Company Inc.(www.jazlynj.com), 2002. 36 pp., pbk., $6.95. ISBN 978-1-894933-81-0. Subject Heading: Time-Juvenile literature. Preschool-grade 2 / Ages 3-7. Review by Linda Ludke. *½/4

	Jazlyn J’s Numbers. Renná Bruce. Illustrated by Robin Oakes. Guelph, ON: Jazlyn J and Company Inc.(www.jazlynj.com), 2007. 34 pp., pbk., $6.95. ISBN 978-0-9781809-0-4. Subject Heading: Numbers, Natural-Juvenile fiction. Preschool-grade 2 / Ages 3-7. Review by Linda Ludke. *½/4

excerpt:

At 7 a.m. I get to wake up, put on my favourite slippers and head down for breakfast! At 8 a.m., I get big hugs and kisses from you and Dad before I head to school! At 9 a.m., class starts and I get to change the date on our class calendar. I just love school and learning new things. (From Jazlyn J’s Favourite Parts of the Day.

At home, Jazlyn hugged her Mom and noticed that she was listening to the radio while preparing dinner. The radio was shining with bright numbers, showing the DIAL NUMBER of the station she was listening to! 106.1 FM! Hey! That’s a number! Without that number, Jazlyn’s Mom wouldn’t know where her favourite radio station was! (From Jazyln J’s Numbers.)

In Jazyln J’s Favourite Parts of the Day, Jazlyn learns to tell time by reviewing with her mother what happens during every hour of the day. The passage of time is linked to school periods: “At 12 p.m., also called “Noon” or “Lunchtime”, we get to eat! I eat with Crystal, Amber and Julie!”; “At 1 p.m., we have Art or Gym and I love both of those!”; “At 2 p.m. we usually have Math, and then Geography. I like learning about numbers and places!” At the end of the day, Jazyln and her parents share their “favourite parts of the day. Readers are also invited to reflect upon positive thoughts at bedtime.


     In Jazylyn J’s Numbers, Jazlyn questions the importance of learning math. Mrs. Beggs asks the class to consider how they communicate using numbers: “When you go shopping for groceries how do you know how much you will be paying for something? ... By the PRICE on each item!”; “How do we tell how cold or hot it is outside? The TEMPERATURE”; “If you want to watch your favourite show on TV, how do you find it? On a CHANNEL.” Jazyln continues this exercise at home with her parents.


     Robin Oakes’ digitally-coloured cartoons depict Jazyln as a red-headed tomboy with huge pigtails and black-rimmed glasses. All the caricatures feature wide eyes and oversized, protruding ears.


     In this message-based series, positive thinking is clearly modelled: “Jazyln always likes to look on the bright side and find the good things in every day.” Unfortunately, the math concepts are often awkwardly presented: “Evening, which was the part of the day that it usually turned dark and brought the end of the day!” The writing also suffers from an overuse of exclamation marks.

Not Recommended.

Linda Ludke is a librarian in London, ON.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

Hosted by the University of Manitoba.

 

NEXT REVIEW | TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE- April 17, 2009.

AUTHORS | TITLES | MEDIA REVIEWS | PROFILES | BACK ISSUES | SEARCH | CMARCHIVE | HOME