A bit touristy and perplexing in its lesson but cheerfully enjoyable—and worth it for that northern lights spread.
A polar bears searches for colors beyond white.
Bear lives “at the top of the world,” which is made of white ice and white snow. The animals, including whales, are white or light gray (though all have faintly pink cheeks); even the ocean’s light gray. Bear yearns for colors. A sea gull requests help from a brown-skinned, round-faced girl with straight dark hair who lives elsewhere (readers never learn where). She collects Bear in a skiff and takes him traveling. They see a Dutch windmill, the Blue Mosque, the Taj Mahal, and much more. Countries and sights aren’t named, though the copyright page lists them. Pages show a white background behind irregularly shaped travel scenes; each page’s scenes emphasize one hue. As pages turn, the scene-shapes shift through the rainbow spectrum, quenching Bear’s color thirst. Kono’s premise is more trope than truth, because the real Arctic has many hues. A confusing moral appears. Supposedly the Arctic “always had” colors, and Bear had “just needed to learn how to see them,” but the only new Arctic-environment colors to appear—not Bear’s (new) paintings nor the illustrations’ confettilike decoration—are the northern lights; they appear in one gorgeous, stunning spread, and it’s hard to believe that Bear’s never seen them before.
A bit touristy and perplexing in its lesson but cheerfully enjoyable—and worth it for that northern lights spread. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8037-4132-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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 successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree.
A Christmas edition of the beloved alphabet book.
The story starts off nearly identically to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989), written by John Archambault and the late Bill Martin Jr, with the letters A, B, and C deciding to meet in the branches of a tree. This time, they’re attempting to scale a Christmas tree, not a coconut tree, and the letters are strung together like garland. A, B, and C are joined by the other letters, and of course they all “slip, slop, topple, plop!” right down the tree. At the bottom, they discover an assortment of gifts, all in a variety of shapes. As a team, the letters and presents organize themselves to get back up on the Christmas tree and get a star to the top. Holiday iterations of favorite tales often fall flat, but this take succeeds. The gifts are an easy way to reinforce another preschool concept—shapes—and the text uses just enough of the original to be familiar. The rhyming works, sticking to the cadence of the source material. The illustrations pay homage to the late Lois Ehlert’s, featuring the same bold block letters, though they lack some of the whimsy and personality of the original. Otherwise, everything is similarly brightly colored and simply drawn. Those familiar with the classic will be drawn to this one, but newcomers can enjoy it on its own.
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665954761
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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