An endearing friendship tale that’s a little one-sided yet still brimming with kid appeal.
Caterpillar pals Parsley and Zip are opposite in everything.
Parsley and Zip hatched on the same leaf, on the same day, but while Parsley lives in the moment, Zip plans every detail of their lives. Zip grows increasingly stressed over Parsley’s lack of concern. One day, they run out of lettuce. Ever the well-prepared caterpillar, Zip has a plan to find more lettuce, but it involves facing some scary chickens. As they journey toward the chicken-guarded lettuce, Parsley stops to play, eat, and rest, savoring the trip, while Zip urges his laid-back friend to keep up. A frustrated Zip has had enough and decides things should change. The next day, something has changed—Parsley has transformed into a cocoon! Nothing Zip does makes his friend react, and Zip is sad that he doesn’t have a solution. Trying to think of what Parsley would do, Zip finally starts to enjoy life, but the chickens are still around—and they’re hungry. Zip can’t think of a plan, but Parsley, now a butterfly, appears and saves Zip. This amusing tale conveys the message that flexibility is important in friendship, though it might have been stronger if the duo had learned from each other instead of Zip learning to be more like Parsley. Still, the book is funny and sweet. Much of the humor lies in the cute illustrations, with comical expressions from the two caterpillars. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An endearing friendship tale that’s a little one-sided yet still brimming with kid appeal. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-78628-476-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Child's Play
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
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
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends.
Is it a stormy-night scare or a bedtime book? Both!
Little Blue Truck and his good friend Toad are heading home when a storm lets loose. Before long, their familiar, now very nervous barnyard friends (Goat, Hen, Goose, Cow, Duck, and Pig) squeeze into the garage. Blue explains that “clouds bump and tumble in the sky, / but here inside we’re warm and dry, / and all the thirsty plants below / will get a drink to help them grow!” The friends begin to relax. “Duck said, loud as he could quack it, / ‘THUNDER’S JUST A NOISY RACKET!’ ” In the quiet after the storm, the barnyard friends are sleepy, but the garage is not their home. “ ‘Beep!’ said Blue. ‘Just hop inside. / All aboard for the bedtime ride!’ ” Young readers will settle down for their own bedtimes as Blue and Toad drop each friend at home and bid them a good night before returning to the garage and their own beds. “Blue gave one small sleepy ‘Beep.’ / Then Little Blue Truck fell fast asleep.” Joseph’s rich nighttime-blue illustrations (done “in the style of [series co-creator] Jill McElmurry”) highlight the power of the storm and capture the still serenity that follows. Little Blue Truck has been chugging along since 2008, but there seems to be plenty of gas left in the tank.
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-85213-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
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