When it’s time to choose a pet, a young witch named Mitzi requires something that is definitely not cute or cuddly. Her creepy relatives have appropriately creepy pets, like piranhas and crocodiles, and one so creepy that it cannot be identified. At the pet store, the shop lady with the short green nose and long blue teeth helps her in selecting from an assortment of repulsive creatures. Mitzi brings home a slimy toad and a pair of bats, but they don’t participate in her activities or respond to her in any way. The toad just keeps eating bugs and the bats just “hang around with each other.” When a kitten appears at her door, she reluctantly invites it in. Though it is “simply not creepy enough” and much too cute, she discovers that it provides true companionship and love. She names the kitten “Hoodwink,” in recognition of her surprise at actually loving a pet so adorable. In a nice twist on the homily, she admits that appearances are indeed deceiving. Howard employs simple, child-friendly language that never simpers. His colorful, appealing cartoon illustrations go beyond the text to depict a charming, eccentric little witch doing perfectly ordinary witchlike activities. Mitzi may be a witch, but she is entirely non-threatening. She eats “Rice Creepies” for breakfast, travels to the pet store by broomstick, reads “Vulture Culture” with great interest, and wears slippers that look surprisingly like the Tasmanian Devil. These illustrations enhance and enrich an amusing story that is sure to please. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-15-202656-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2001
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property.
Since a reformed Grinch is hardly any fun, this follow-up Grinches him up once more.
Those seeking more of the same, prepare to receive precisely that. Christmas is coming (again!), and the Grinch can hardly wait. He’s been patient all year, and now he can finally show the Whos down in Who-ville how much he’s changed. When the Grinch learns of a tree-decorating contest, he figures that if he wins, it’ll prove he truly has the Christmas spirit. He throws himself into the task, but when it comes time to judge the trees, the Grinch is horrified to discover that he’s received only the second-place trophy. Can Cindy-Lou Who find the words to save the day? Replicating many of the original beats and wordplay of the original, this tale feels like less a sequel and more like a vaguely rewritten variation. Meanwhile, Ruiz’s art seeks to bridge the gap between the animated Chuck Jones version of the Grinch and the one depicted in the original book. This thankless task results in a strange uncanny valley between Seuss and Jones but does allow the artist a chance to colorize everything and lend some racial diversity to the Who population (Cindy-Lou is light-skinned). (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9780593563168
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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