This silly romp is sure to elicit giggles while promoting emotional intelligence.
This kid learns to really hug it out.
An unnamed protagonist with black hair and light brown skin watches in surprise as a gray tabby hacks a hairball and announces, “I don’t feel well.” Sympathetic, the kid replies, “Do you want a hug?”—unwittingly initiating the formation of a line of animals in want of a hug. The text is limited to spare dialogue in speech bubbles, and so it is the lively illustrations that largely carry the plot. The first handful of furry friends are gentle, with a dog and a pair of ducks against a pastel watercolor backdrop. As the action escalates, so does the choice of animals, which include a skunk, a porcupine, a bear, and a sneaky tiger who attempts to make a snack out of the tabby. As the obscurity and size of the animals comically escalate, so do the kid’s reactions. Generously, the kid acquiesces to each request despite the personal toll. The kid’s appearance and reactions, however, go from neat through frazzled to full-out disheveled, with frayed hair and stained clothes. Eventually an eclectic ensemble of demanding creatures, complete with a fiery dragon, provokes the beleaguered protagonist to yell, “STOP!” After this eruption, the tabby helps the kid find peace—with a hug, of course. Short and sweet, the book gently guides readers to find balance between helping others while acknowledging their own emotional needs. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 69.4% of actual size.)
This silly romp is sure to elicit giggles while promoting emotional intelligence. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5253-0206-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
