Exploring selfish behavior makes understanding the “why” of sharing easier.
Fowl and friend fight over toys.
Duo Dot and Duck explored manners in How Rude! (2018). Now they are back, learning another tough childhood lesson. Duck finds a stick, but Dot greedily snatches it away. Duck thinks it should be a flag. Dot thinks it is a sword. The two squabble back and forth, grabbing and yelling. “Flag!” “Sword!” Duck tries to negotiate: “Swap the flag for a rabbit?” But Dot is having none of it: “That’s MY toy!” When Duck suggests sharing, Dot ceremoniously offers a tiny leaf while keeping everything else (including the stick). The pair can’t figure out how to agree until Duck utters the most powerful phrase in all of childhood: “I’m telling on you….” Dot quickly acquiesces, and suddenly Duck is the one with all of the toys. Dot is fuming. How selfish! The staccato shouts that dominate the dialogue-only text and the uncluttered, white backdrop emphasize this grumpy feud. Each page turn shows how quickly an argument can escalate. Luckily, the duo realize they miss each other’s company and are able to find a compromise. The argument itself offers hints as a model for social-emotional conflict resolution, but this book is more likely to be used to spark a deeper discussion rather than to provide solo guidance. Duck is a yellow-feathered duck; Dot is a pink-skinned human.
Exploring selfish behavior makes understanding the “why” of sharing easier. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-71124-447-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Words & Pictures
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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