A meandering chapbook low on conflict, with a young, cleverly modern narrator.
A 10-year-old girl journeys with a magical Dream Pony to meet Santa and help spread belief in Christmas magic in this full-color illustrated chapter book for early elementary readers.
Julie, the younger of 10-year-old twins, is adjusting to life in her new home with the help of a Dream Pony, Algonquin, she discovered in the attic. The stuffed pony magically transforms into a life-sized, colorfully speckled pony, accompanied by a Jiminy Cricket–like guardian, Mickey Bright, a spider. (Julie recalls an earlier adventure when she met the pair, though no previous title is available.) Algonquin and Mickey Bright arrive at Julie’s side the week before Christmas to take her on a journey to the North Pole. Dressed in magically provided snow gear, Julie hops on Algonquin’s back as the Dream Pony flies her north. First, they encounter the gray wolf leader, Baron, who tries to intimidate them, but they easily escape. Next, they meet Great Maximus, leader of the polar bears, who welcomes them in his territory and explains that most children, at the age of 10, lose the ability to see Santa Claus because they begin to stop believing in magic. Algonquin takes a rest when the trio catches a ride on the icebreaker Benedict after encountering some penguin musicians (who have no business being in the Northern Hemisphere). An encounter with the friends’ old nemesis Magnifico—wearing a turban—is easily won, giving Julie plenty of time to solve Santa’s problem of children growing too old for him; a timely Internet petition plays a part. The illustrations suit the mood of the story and are spread out frequently enough to balance the text-dense chapters. All of Julie’s hurdles seem defeated by others and easily overcome, until Julie finally takes the lead saving Santa. Some worldbuilding issues may leave readers at a loss—Julie seems to be gone for several days, but her family doesn’t notice?—but many will find the multicolored magic pony enchanting.
A meandering chapbook low on conflict, with a young, cleverly modern narrator.Pub Date: May 29, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5049-1432-1
Page Count: 50
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property.
Since a reformed Grinch is hardly any fun, this follow-up Grinches him up once more.
Those seeking more of the same, prepare to receive precisely that. Christmas is coming (again!), and the Grinch can hardly wait. He’s been patient all year, and now he can finally show the Whos down in Who-ville how much he’s changed. When the Grinch learns of a tree-decorating contest, he figures that if he wins, it’ll prove he truly has the Christmas spirit. He throws himself into the task, but when it comes time to judge the trees, the Grinch is horrified to discover that he’s received only the second-place trophy. Can Cindy-Lou Who find the words to save the day? Replicating many of the original beats and wordplay of the original, this tale feels like less a sequel and more like a vaguely rewritten variation. Meanwhile, Ruiz’s art seeks to bridge the gap between the animated Chuck Jones version of the Grinch and the one depicted in the original book. This thankless task results in a strange uncanny valley between Seuss and Jones but does allow the artist a chance to colorize everything and lend some racial diversity to the Who population (Cindy-Lou is light-skinned). (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9780593563168
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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