A quietly enchanting story to share right before naptime or bed to remind young children of the safety and comfort of the...
Moons and rabbits have a long history of sharing stories—witness the U.S. classic Goodnight Moon or folktales from China, Japan, and Korea.
In this new bedtime story by a well-known Turkish writer/illustrator, the moon and a rabbit enter into a friendly relationship. In luminous watercolor scenes, with deep blue skies and twinkling stars, the moon travels down to Earth one night when soft, white Little Bunny wakes, hungry, but is afraid to venture far from his bed. Starting as a crescent, the moon lights the way for the pair to find luscious berries. Each night, as the moon grows fuller, the two explore the local countryside. A tape measure artfully demarcates the white text of one page from a border showing the moon phases. Finally, when the moon is full, the prescient orb guesses Little Bunny’s wish. “Perhaps you should wish to climb up into the sky and touch the stars?” After a beautiful, wordless, double-page, full-bleed spread of the full moon and Little Bunny staring up at a shooting star in an endless night sky, the friends proceed to do just that. “The stars are delighted to meet Little Bunny. Together they dance across the sky.”
A quietly enchanting story to share right before naptime or bed to remind young children of the safety and comfort of the light that shines down upon the Earth at night. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-988-8341-76-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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