A sweet invitation to enjoy Navidad.
Ramón tries to get El Cucuy into the holiday spirit.
“¡Feliz Navidad, El Cucuy!” says Ramón. But the fanged, hairy monster would rather ignore Christmas. The lights twinkle too brightly, the muñeco de nieve (or snowman) seems pointless (and initially scary!), and El Cucuy is alarmed at the prospect of strangers showing up at the front door for Nochebuena, the final day of Las Posadas, a nine-night Christmas festival observed by many Latine communities. Can El Cucuy offer kindness to strangers? Perhaps—with Ramón at his side (and some horchata). Soon, it’s time to bash the piñata. Though El Cucuy hesitates, Ramón reminds the little monster that families celebrate together. “I am your family?” asks a happy El Cucuy. A hug, a regalo, and a little assurance bring a feliz Navidad into full swing. Scattering Spanish phrases throughout, Higuera leverages a fruitful push-and-pull dynamic between Ramón and El Cucuy to emphasize the communal spirit of the holidays and, of course, the yummy food that brings communities together. A tad overly gooey at times, El Cucuy’s latest foray into unfamiliar terrain nonetheless reassures readers who may find themselves in similar situations. Enticingly festive, Perdomo’s cheerful artwork moves from cold landscapes of snow to warmly lit indoor celebrations (eventually merging the contrasts), mirroring El Cucuy’s transformation from reluctant recluse to gleeful participant. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A sweet invitation to enjoy Navidad. (author’s and illustrator’s notes) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9781419760136
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Aug. 12, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers.
The bestselling series (How to Catch an Elf, 2016, etc.) about capturing mythical creatures continues with a story about various ways to catch the Easter Bunny as it makes its annual deliveries.
The bunny narrates its own story in rhyming text, beginning with an introduction at its office in a manufacturing facility that creates Easter eggs and candy. The rabbit then abruptly takes off on its delivery route with a tiny basket of eggs strapped to its back, immediately encountering a trap with carrots and a box propped up with a stick. The narrative focuses on how the Easter Bunny avoids increasingly complex traps set up to catch him with no explanation as to who has set the traps or why. These traps include an underground tunnel, a fluorescent dance floor with a hidden pit of carrots, a robot bunny, pirates on an island, and a cannon that shoots candy fish, as well as some sort of locked, hazardous site with radiation danger. Readers of previous books in the series will understand the premise, but others will be confused by the rabbit’s frenetic escapades. Cartoon-style illustrations have a 1960s vibe, with a slightly scary, bow-tied bunny with chartreuse eyes and a glowing palette of neon shades that shout for attention.
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3817-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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