A quirky friendship story with lots of humor.
A young monster breaks a taboo against friendship—kind of.
Zander’s a normal monster (except for having a sister who’s a fairy—a strange detail that’s part of the book’s deadpan whimsy). And like a normal monster, he doesn’t have friends, though the illustrations imply he longs for connection. However, there’s apparently no injunction against fairies having friends, and his sister has plenty. Instead, Zander enjoys normal monster activities such as scaring children (which the illustrations hilariously suggest fills him with a wicked glee) and...surfing. While surfing, Zander notices a bird watching him. They silently greet each other with nods and points of the chin for a couple days until Zander invites the bird to the sand, whereupon the other monsters notice and mock Zander about his “friend.” Zander denies the friendship, and the hurt-looking bird wings away...but returns the next day. With information gleaned from his sister about friends, the next time he’s mocked, Zander decides that he and the bird aren’t friends—they don’t do everything his sister and her friends do (like “give money to kids who’ve lost teeth”)—they just enjoy spending time together. Jack’s colorful, humorous art makes for active illustrations and engaging characters, aptly complementing Vernick’s gently speculative text. The book ends without explicit acknowledgment of Zander’s friendship with the bird or his desire for closeness, allowing readers to digest the message.
A quirky friendship story with lots of humor. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4231-9959-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
Sadly, the storytelling runs aground.
A little red sleigh has big Christmas dreams.
Although the detailed, full-color art doesn’t anthropomorphize the protagonist (which readers will likely identify as a sled and not a sleigh), a close third-person text affords the object thoughts and feelings while assigning feminine pronouns. “She longed to become Santa’s big red sleigh,” reads an early line establishing the sleigh’s motivation to leave her Christmas-shop home for the North Pole. Other toys discourage her, but she perseveres despite creeping self-doubt. A train and truck help the sleigh along, and when she wishes she were big, fast, and powerful like them, they offer encouragement and counsel patience. When a storm descends after the sleigh strikes out on her own, an unnamed girl playing in the snow brings her to a group of children who all take turns riding the sleigh down a hill. When the girl brings her home, the sleigh is crestfallen she didn’t reach the North Pole. A convoluted happily-ever-after ending shows a note from Santa that thanks the sleigh for giving children joy and invites her to the North Pole next year. “At last she understood what she was meant to do. She would build her life up spreading joy, one child at a time.” Will she leave the girl’s house to be gifted to other children? Will she stay and somehow also reach ever more children? Readers will be left wondering. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 31.8% of actual size.)
Sadly, the storytelling runs aground. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-72822-355-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
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
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