Affirming for Jewish readers and useful for those who feel at sea about Passover.
Dive in and learn about an important Jewish holiday in the latest undersea outing from the author of the Pout-Pout Fish series.
Mr. Fish has been invited to celebrate Passover with his friend Miss Shimmer and her family. The day before the holiday, Mr. Fish offers to babysit Miss Shimmer’s niece and nephew while she goes shopping for dinner ingredients. He and the fry clean the house (apparently a coral cave) of chametz crumbs, turning the task into a fun Passover treasure hunt, before Miss Shimmer's elderly parents arrive bearing Haggadahs and special Passover tableware. Then Miss Shimmer returns and Mr. Fish helps her cook the Passover meal. The following night, at the seder, the Shimmers educate Mr. Fish about the history of Passover and the holiday’s traditions, from the symbolic foods on the seder plate to the hiding of the afikomen and more. Children attending their first Passover seder may find the ritual a little easier to understand after reading this book, but some details don’t add up; for example, how do the piscine characters perform the ritual of dipping spring vegetables in salt water when their whole world is salt water? The text sometimes feels too didactic, but occasionally there is a striking turn of phrase, such as when the Haggadah is poetically described as a “treasure map.” Hanna’s cheerful cartoony illustrations are functional.
Affirming for Jewish readers and useful for those who feel at sea about Passover. (stickers) (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-374-38905-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes.
A lift-the-flap book gives the littlest trick-or-treaters some practice identifying partygoers under their costumes.
Little Blue Truck and his buddy Toad are off to a party, and they invite readers (and a black cat) along for the ride: “ ‘Beep! Beep! Beep!’ / says Little Blue. / ‘It’s Halloween!’ / You come, too.” As they drive, they are surprised (and joined) by many of their friends in costume. “Who’s that in a tutu / striking a pose / up on the tiniest / tips of her toes? / Under the mask / who do you see?” Lifting the flap unmasks a friend: “ ‘Quack!’ says the duck. / ‘It’s me! It’s me!’ ” The sheep is disguised as a clown, the cow’s a queen, the pig’s a witch, the hen and her chick are pirates, and the horse is a dragon. Not to be left out, Little Blue has a costume, too. The flaps are large and sturdy, and enough of the animals’ characteristic features are visible under and around the costumes that little ones will be able to make successful guesses even on the first reading. Lovely curvy shapes and autumn colors fade to dusky blues as night falls, and children are sure to notice the traditional elements of a Halloween party: apple bobbing, lit jack-o’-lanterns, and punch and treats.
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-77253-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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