So-so verse but a warming message for the heart and a feast for the eyes.
A monthly party of positivity hosted by garden fairies.
This book’s dedication sets the positive tone: “Every child is a different kind of flower, and all together make this world a beautiful garden.” Anchoring the title page, fanciful winged garden fairies parade the flowers to be highlighted in the ensuing text. Most are familiar (daffodil, rose, poppy, etc.), but the list doesn’t seem to duplicate any standard list of birth months and flowers. Within, each double-page spread contains a four-line verse with an encouraging message for that month. “December: Poinsettia / December’s flowers are vibrant and strong. / They raise our spirits like a song. / Your sweetness and courage are a gift / that gives our hearts a cheerful lift.” The verse is singsong-y, with the occasional metrical stumble and more than occasional cliché. The real joy of this book is the illustrations, with colors as vibrant as a brilliant sunset. Garden snapshots pop against lighter backgrounds. Close inspection of the illustrations will reveal garden fairies, moths, and butterflies. The most observant readers will also spot a mouse, a spider, ladybugs, caterpillars, and dragonflies. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9.5-by-19-inch double-page spreads viewed at 39.9% of actual size.)
So-so verse but a warming message for the heart and a feast for the eyes. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-984830-39-5
Page Count: 42
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers.
The bestselling series (How to Catch an Elf, 2016, etc.) about capturing mythical creatures continues with a story about various ways to catch the Easter Bunny as it makes its annual deliveries.
The bunny narrates its own story in rhyming text, beginning with an introduction at its office in a manufacturing facility that creates Easter eggs and candy. The rabbit then abruptly takes off on its delivery route with a tiny basket of eggs strapped to its back, immediately encountering a trap with carrots and a box propped up with a stick. The narrative focuses on how the Easter Bunny avoids increasingly complex traps set up to catch him with no explanation as to who has set the traps or why. These traps include an underground tunnel, a fluorescent dance floor with a hidden pit of carrots, a robot bunny, pirates on an island, and a cannon that shoots candy fish, as well as some sort of locked, hazardous site with radiation danger. Readers of previous books in the series will understand the premise, but others will be confused by the rabbit’s frenetic escapades. Cartoon-style illustrations have a 1960s vibe, with a slightly scary, bow-tied bunny with chartreuse eyes and a glowing palette of neon shades that shout for attention.
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3817-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A predictable series entry, mitigated as usual by the protagonists’ perennially energetic positivity.
A holiday-centered spinoff from the duo behind the inspired The Day the Crayons Quit (2013).
With Green Crayon on vacation, how can the waxy ones pull off a colorful St. Patrick’s Day celebration with Duncan, their (unseen) owner? Through their signature combo of cooperation and unwavering enthusiasm, of course. Blue and Yellow collaborate on a field of shamrocks that blends—however spottily—into green. Nearly invisible White Crayon supplies an otherwise unclothed light-skinned leprechaun with undies, and Orange draws a pair of pants that match the wee creature’s iconic beard and hair. Pink applies colors to a vest, and Purple, a natty jacket and boots. Chunky Toddler Crayon contributes a “perfect” scribbly blue hat; Beige and Brown team up for the leprechaun’s harp. In arguably the best bit, Black exuberantly manifests a decidedly unvariegated rainbow, while Gold’s pot of coins is right on the money, hue-wise. Their ardor undimmed by the holiday’s missing customary color, everyone assembles to party. Though the repartee among the crayons isn’t as developed as in previous outings, the book hews close to Daywalt and Jeffers’ winning formula, and there’s still enough here to keep readers chuckling. And, in a droll “wait for it” moment nicely calibrated for storytime, Green returns from vacation, sunglasses and suitcase in hand: “Did I miss anything while I was gone?” (The cover illustrations do hint at some Green-inflected remediation.)
A predictable series entry, mitigated as usual by the protagonists’ perennially energetic positivity. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780593624333
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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