A warming read.
Little Mouse enlists the help of woodland neighbors when he gathers firewood to warm his nest.
It’s wintertime, and Little Mouse is determined to gather fuel to keep his family warm. He sets out wearing a very long red scarf that he uses to bundle an enormous pile of sticks and pine cones and such, but the pile is so huge that he can’t move it. He asks Rabbit and Fox—who has a sled—for help, and while it’s unclear how they manage to move the pile onto the sled, they do. But they still can’t move it. Finally, they ask Bear for help, and he obliges. There’s no sense of antagonism among the animals—the clear enemy is the developing snowstorm. Although the little peaceable kingdom is successful in finally moving the pile together, a stumble causes it to fall. The storm is severe at this point, and the four animals huddle together under the makeshift nest to wait it out. When they emerge, they divide up the sticks among themselves, and each brings home firewood to ensure a warm winter. Throughout, Oral’s textured illustrations in a muted palette outshine the written narrative, reveling in the contrasts of the figures against white snow. The blizzard scenes also effectively create a mood of peril with their darkening, hectic lines.
A warming read. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-988-8341-29-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 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
Echoes of Runaway Bunny color this exchange between a bath-averse piglet and his patient mother. Using a strategy that would probably be a nonstarter in real life, the mother deflects her stubborn offspring’s string of bath-free occupational conceits with appeals to reason: “Pirates NEVER EVER take baths!” “Pirates don’t get seasick either. But you do.” “Yeesh. I’m an astronaut, okay?” “Well, it is hard to bathe in zero gravity. It’s hard to poop and pee in zero gravity too!” And so on, until Mom’s enticing promise of treasure in the deep sea persuades her little Treasure Hunter to take a dive. Chunky figures surrounded by lots of bright white space in Segal’s minimally detailed watercolors keep the visuals as simple as the plotline. The language isn’t quite as basic, though, and as it rendered entirely in dialogue—Mother Pig’s lines are italicized—adult readers will have to work hard at their vocal characterizations for it to make any sense. Moreover, younger audiences (any audiences, come to that) may wonder what the piggy’s watery closing “EUREKA!!!” is all about too. Not particularly persuasive, but this might coax a few young porkers to get their trotters into the tub. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25425-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
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