A pleasing twist on a friendship tale that gently teaches about cultural manners and boundaries.
A made-for-storytime tale for little ones who do (and do not!) love affection.
Seal has just arrived at the national zoo from France and is eager to make “zee” new friends. So when no one visits her, she sets out to smooch her way around the zoo, believing she is making friends as she goes. However, her new zoo mates are less than thrilled by her fishy smell and (they think) overly friendly manners. Oblivious, Seal kisses on until at last the snow leopard sets her straight with a growl: “You stink!” Embarrassed, she slinks back to her pool as Sparrow, the only animal to initiate a friendship with Seal, reminds the other animals that once they, too, were new at the zoo. Together, the residents find their own way to welcome their new neighbor, and friendships begin at last on a good note. Soft acrylic, pencil, and charcoal illustrations feature wide-eyed, wildly dramatic animals in numerous kissing scenes. Young readers will squeal with delight at the onomatopoeic responses given by the animals, including “Ewww!” “Pee-yew!” and “Blech!” even as they root for Seal to win them over and, perhaps, rethink some of their own assumptions about cultural differences in their own settings. The humorous text offers numerous examples of rich language to build children’s vocabularies.
A pleasing twist on a friendship tale that gently teaches about cultural manners and boundaries. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-247577-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2018
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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