Who's New

by Cindy Helms

Birdie and his friends are back! All of Birdie's friends in the town of Ponderville are in for a treat. Someone new is moving to Ponderville! In this second picture book by Cindy Helms, everyone is curious to see who could possibly be their new neighbor. Part mystery and part matching game, Birdie and his friends track down and reveal “Who's New” with intriguing shapes leading the way. How well the newcomer will fit in? Will Ponderville be welcoming?

Genres: Childrens

40 pages, Paperback

Published April 14, 2016

About the author

Cindy Helms is a visual artist, author and illustrator known for designing unusual projects. For Cindy, art is created from curious and whimsical combinations of shapes, textures and colors. She had added a grown-up coloring book and a personal memoir to her publication accomplishments. After raising her family in the Denver, CO area, Cindy now splits time between the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Milwaukee area of Wisconsin. Her two artistic sons are all grown up and her pets have moved on to the great beyond but she has added a new husband to the family. She loves road trips, camping, art museums and discovering new places.

Reviews

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

The reader has to find who the new neighbor is matching the shadows. Other than that there is not too much plot.

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Lynda Dickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ponderville only has a population of 19. So, when someone new comes to town, it's a big deal. Help Birdie and his friends identify the silhouette to find out "who's new" to their town.

This is a great book to teach your child about friendship and inclusiveness. Cindy Helms, author and illustrator, uses fineliners and colored pencils to create her imaginative townsfolk. In this town, everyone is very different, but everyone is welcome, and they're all friends.

The simple text and repetition will have your child reading along in no time.

I received this book in return for an honest review.

Full blog post (6 September): https://booksdirectonline.blogspot.co...

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Birdie and her friends in Ponderville have a new neighbour. Birdie gets a card from the new neighbour with her picture, or at least an outline. The mystery is on, find the new neighbour. Using shapes, the reader and the citizens in Ponderville head off to match the silhouette of the new neighbour with the creatures they find along the way. This is a cute matching game with a different twist as the shapes are not regular but odd shapes to match the odd creatures that live in Ponderville. The creatures that live there are whimsical, bright and colourful and fun to look at. A cute book.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Scott Hensley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from the Goodreads First Reads program.

My youngest loved it! We had to read it multiple times before she had her fill for the night. It is a great book for very young ages. After age four there wouldn't be enough content or action to hold a child's attention, but to that point its a great option.

[Tonja Drecker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun twist on recognizing shapes and playing an art orientated type of guessing game, while entering a sweet town named Ponderville.

There's someone new in the town of Ponderville, but Birdie and his friends have no idea who it is. So they begin their search. Through cute illustrations, they compare a shadow picture with various citizens of Ponderville until the find the matching 'shape'.

There's a ton of fantasy and color in the illustrations, exactly the kind to lure kids in. The characters are peculiar and comical, making each one a distinct delight. I especially enjoyed the shadow shapes (and not easy ones by any means) and how they're used to distinguish whether a character is the one being searched for or not.

The text is simple enough, and the book can be used either as a read-aloud or to be read alone. I did find the beginning a little difficult, since I haven't read the first book in the series, OUTSIDE, INSIDE and wasn't familiar with any of the characters. So I'd definitely start with the other book before diving into this one.

[READER VIEWS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Paola (age 9) for Reader Views (01/17)

“Who’s New” is a funny story by Cindy Helms.

While driving to the city of Ponderville, the new resident drops a box with a funny shape. A couple of small birds found the box and started looking for the owner.

This funny story is of odd shaped birds, where your imagination will be fascinated by trying to match and find the new resident. You will meet some of the weird residents with strange funny shapes.

I liked the game of matching all the figures. That will keep the attention of the kids as well as the colorful illustrations.

A Note from Paola’s Mom:

Although “Who’s New” by Cindy Helms is a story for younger kids, it also caught the attention of older ones. Paola really liked it and she shared it by reading it to her small cousin.

[Stacie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who's New is a charming picture book with bright and lively characters that will delight young readers.

Someone new has just arrived in Ponderville and Birdie and his friends are determined to find out who. Armed with a silhouette of the new arrival the hunt for a match begins.

The simple text and colorful illustrations will capture the attention of little ones while the excitement of tracking down the new neighbor will keep them engaged. The introduction of unusual shapes and cool critters of Ponderville add to the enjoyment.

I found Who's New to be a creative and fun preschool book. I highly recommend picking up a copy.​

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free ecopy of this book for an honest review.

Who’s New? is a cute and fun book for children.

Ponderville is a small town, population 19, and someone new has just moved into town! There’s a delivery for the new arrival and it has an ink picture of her and her name, AlphaBetty. The delivery birds try to match the picture of AlphaBetty to everyone they come across.

This is such a cute book! All of the characters are odd looking but adorable. Matching the delivery to the correct creature would be a fun game for young children. Who’s New? would be a great book for parents to read aloud and have the child(ren) match the pictures while they read.

[Donna Maguire · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book in terms of matching up shapes but the story didn't really have a real ending for me, it was more an introduction to a new character for a future book, overall is was ok but I feel like its missing something to make it a firm favourite

[Poongothai · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple matching game of shapes with the shadows to find who the neighbor is

Thanks to netgalley