Young is at the height of his powers in this fable that offers a feast for the eyes, mind, and soul. A visual masterpiece.
A wealthy lord has everything, yet it’s never enough until deprivation teaches him life’s true riches.
Lying in luxury atop Hunger Mountain, a haughty cat lord lives in excess. His clothes are spun from silk and gold, and he always leaves his bowl of the finest rice half eaten. But a drought begins, and famine spreads. The villagers leave; still the arrogant feline stays, refusing to part with his possessions. Finally, starving and alone, the lord ventures out and must beg for food. When a kindly monk gives him a spoonful of rice—the grains of which were collected from the cat’s wasted extravagance at Hunger Mountain—the lord finally understands what it means to be blessed. The well-paced fable is visually stunning, as photographs, textured paper, string, and other materials combine into magnificent paper collage illustrations. At times abstract but always beautifully composed, the artwork shows a deep appreciation for its audience, boldly challenging readers to interpret and extract meaning. During the cat’s epiphany, the mountain and mist resolve into a symbolic panda servant dutifully washing the rich lord’s rice. In a time when almost all illustrators use digital manipulation, this artist only needs paper and scissors to assemble a brilliant image.
Young is at the height of his powers in this fable that offers a feast for the eyes, mind, and soul. A visual masterpiece. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-17278-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
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
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
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