bookshelf

AND THEN COMES CHRISTMAS

Name: AND THEN COMES CHRISTMAS
Author: Tom Brenner
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5342-2

by Tom Brenner ; illustrated by Jana Christy ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 9, 2014

WHEN families find an endearing Christmas story (such as this one), THEN they will enjoy reading it over and over.

bookshelf

A Caucasian family with two young children prepares for Christmas in this captivating look at the anticipation and activities during the countdown to the holiday.

The second entry in a series, following And Then Comes Halloween (2009), this story follows the same textual structure, using a “when” / “then” format. Each new stage of holiday preparation begins with a sentence setting up the new scene. For example, “WHEN elves and reindeer appear in stores, and small trains race through toy villages, and piles of presents nestle in cotton drifts….” A corresponding action is then taken by the children in the family; in this case, they “THEN hop from foot to foot, waiting to sit on Santa’s knee.” The text is filled with rich vocabulary and sensory details, evocatively describing the sights, sounds and smells of the season. The joyous illustrations in jewel-bright tones appear to be watercolors, but they are actually digitally produced. They create a misty, dreamy atmosphere with blurred edges, glowing illumination and an overall impressionistic tone that will appeal to both children and adults. The final page shows the contented, loving family having a cozy Christmas morning breakfast together as they “bask in the magic of Christmas.”

WHEN families find an endearing Christmas story (such as this one), THEN they will enjoy reading it over and over. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-7636-5342-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
AND THEN COMES SCHOOL
by Tom Brenner ; illustrated by Jen Hill

- BOOK REVIEW
AND THEN COMES SUMMER
by Tom Brenner ; illustrated by Jaime Kim

- BOOK REVIEW
AND THEN COMES HALLOWEEN
by Tom Brenner and illustrated by Holly Meade

bookshelf

CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

bookshelf

A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

bookshelf

YOUR BABY'S FIRST WORD WILL BE DADA

by Jimmy Fallon ; illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2015

Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.

bookshelf

A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.

A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.

Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)