A whimsical spin on all things fairy tale.
A child becomes Doctor Fairytale, providing care to well-known figures from classic stories.
As it turns out, beloved fairy-tale characters sustain plenty of injuries. Cinderella’s feet are covered in blisters; the big bad wolf suffers burns after tumbling into the fire at the three pigs’ house; Snow White falls fast asleep after biting into the poisoned apple. Doctor Fairytale comes to the rescue, tending to their ailments with tenderness and consideration. After a long and busy day, the physician gets caught in the rain and falls ill—but gets a surprise visit from all the other characters who have received medical care along the way. This charming story riffs on favorite childhood stories while slightly altering many of their endings in clever, inspired ways. Cinderella takes some time off to rest her feet; Snow White is revived while also dodging the prince’s attempt at a kiss. The rhyming text keeps the pace moving and adds to the timeless feeling of the source material. The warm, soft illustrations alternate between small, framed vignettes and full, two-page layouts. Doctor Fairytale and Snow White are pale-skinned; Cinderella is Black. Other human characters vary in skin tone.
A whimsical spin on all things fairy tale. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9781536238815
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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