This refreshingly particular Hanukkah celebration effectively encourages readers to gain a new understanding of “miracle.”...
In Alaska, Hanukkah can have its own special festival of lights when conditions are just right to witness the aurora borealis, or northern lights.
Living so far north presents challenges as well as the wonder of a wintry natural landscape. In a little girl’s backyard, a moose has taken up residence, nibbling on the branches of the tree where the girl’s swing hangs. While beautiful, the moose can also be dangerous. Luring him away with apples and carrots does not work, but when the girl and her family cautiously come out on the last clear night of Hanukkah to watch the colorful display in the darkened sky, a trail of latkes on the snow tempts the moose away from the swing, to the relief of this clever little girl. This story was first published in the anthology A Hanukkah Treasury, edited by Eric A. Kimmel (1998). In this picture-book rendition, Schuett illuminates the uniquely glacial atmosphere with realistic acrylic and gouache paintings that visually climax with a sash of skylight colors that emulates the melding of Hanukkah candle wax. The symbolism of the holiday is articulated in the little girl’s final reflection: “Hanukkah can be pretty funny in Alaska, and miracles can happen in a lot of different ways.”
This refreshingly particular Hanukkah celebration effectively encourages readers to gain a new understanding of “miracle.” (author’s note) (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9748-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2013
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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Sugary uplift, shrink-wrapped for the masses.
An elusive new quarry leads the How To Catch… kids on a merry chase through a natural history museum.
Taking at least a step away from the “hunters versus prey” vibe of previous entries in the popular series, the racially diverse group of young visitors dashes through various museum halls in pursuit of the eponymous dino—whose quest to “spread kindness and joy ’round the world” takes the form of a mildly tumultuous museum tour. In most of Elkerton’s overly sweet, color-saturated scenes, only portions of the Loveosaurus, who is purple and covered with pink hearts, are visible behind exhibits or lumbering off the page. But the children find small enticements left behind, from craft supplies to make cards for endangered species to pictures of smiley faces, candy heart–style personal notes (“You Rock!” “Give Hugs”), and, in the hall of medieval arms and armor, a sign urging them to “Be Honest Be Kind.” The somewhat heavy-handed lesson comes through loud and clear. “There’s a message, he wants us to think,” hints Walstead to clue in more obtuse readers…and concluding scenes of smiling people young and otherwise exchanging hugs and knuckle bumps, holding doors for a wheelchair rider, and dancing through clouds of sparkles indicate that they, at least, have gotten it. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Sugary uplift, shrink-wrapped for the masses. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2022
ISBN: 9781728268781
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
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