Slim but fun.
There is a curious, implied question in the title: What is “the cutest thing ever”?
A tiny, purple bat thinks it knows the answer. But it needs to check in with readers to make sure. The winged narrator asks them directly, “Want to see the cutest thing ever?” A page turn reveals a cloudlike creature with three eyes, a smattering of freckles, and five stubby legs. “It’s a cute monster!” Anticipating the audience’s disappointment, the bat concedes, “Okay, I guess it could be cuter.” The next attempt shows the cute monster with…a kitten! (Wearing a bow tie, which does make any kitten extra-cute.) The bat hurries to add, “Or maybe… // A monster with two kittens!” Perhaps adding hats and then a unicorn will help too. The bat, getting more and more desperate to impress, adds a “rainbow road” as well as “a parade of koala bears” and more silliness, culminating in a full-spread scene exploding with cuteness. But is it the cutest thing ever? The bat, with rainbow perspiration droplets and wings stretched out wide, has one more idea. The final page turn just might reveal the cutest yet—and will certainly make readers shout in gleeful recognition. While there’s not much beyond the dizzying piling on of cuteness, there’s no questioning that it is, well, cute.
Slim but fun. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3357-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
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