An earnest picture book that blends fantasy elements with straightforward religious symbolism.
A lamb is saved from a hungry dragon by a valorous lion in this illustrated Christian allegory.
Little lamb Nathaniel is lost. He remembers wanting to play, and perhaps running away from something, but he’s not sure how he ended up in a scary castle with his wool such a dirty mess. Things get much worse, though, when a dragon shows up. It threateningly tells Nathaniel that there’s nowhere to hide, and soon looms over the poor little creature. Just when all seems lost, a lion appears through the mist, and Nathaniel isn’t sure who’s more dangerous. Just as the dragon moves to attack, “The lion bravely pounced, and He scratched the beast’s eye. / Then the feisty dragon fell back with a ‘ROAR’ and a cry!” The battle is on, with the lion fighting to protect Nathaniel from the dragon’s flames. Though the reptilian beast bloodies his adversary’s paw in battle, it’s with that same paw that the lion marks Nathaniel as his own, forcing the dragon to give up. Finally, with the danger gone, the lion asks Nathaniel to follow him to freedom. Drawing on older Christian allegories, such as John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress as well as C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Hyslop uses the trappings of fantasy to retell the story of a savior who defends lost sheep through his own sacrifice. For readers already familiar with the story of Jesus, the parallels will be evident; others may find that the story doesn’t stand entirely on its own as a fantasy tale. In any case, Hyslop’s endnotes lay out his intended, direct correlations to Scripture. His rhymes are consistent throughout and mostly flow naturally. Jasinski’s painterly, full-color illustrations lend action and urgency to the tale, especially in showing the villainous dragon with a mouth that seems to drip lava. The depiction of the bloody paw mark on Nathaniel’s back may be off-putting to some young readers, but it reinforces the poetic imagery.
An earnest picture book that blends fantasy elements with straightforward religious symbolism.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781733809368
Page Count: 40
Publisher: AH! Publishing LLC
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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