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ARNOLD THE BRAVE

The final word: there is more than one way to teach a wolf some manners.

Even a superhero sheep can’t go it alone without a trusty sidekick.

Sheep graze. Occasionally they are sheared for their wool, and occasionally they make a fine meal (especially to big bad wolves). But “As far as Arnold is concerned, any old sheep can graze.” Arnold likes to bang out the pushups and chin-ups and to dance around in circles shadowboxing. “ ‘I am a Super Sheep!’ says Arnold. But that’s not what the other sheep think. They just don’t get Arnold.” But Milo the mole does. He thinks Arnold is grand stuff and helps him with his training. When the wolf inevitably shows, all the sheep run and hide, but Arnold stands his ground (with Milo). Arnold challenges the wolf, feinting and jabbing and looking so ridiculous the wolf starts to laugh. Laughing, the wolf doesn’t notice Milo grab a stray end of Arnold’s sweater and tie it to the wolf’s tail. Round and round Arnold goes, till the wolf finally lunges to discover that his feet are all tangled up in Arnold’s diminished sweater. Down the wolf falls on his noggin, getting knocked silly. Whatever the moral of the story—go your own way; when the going gets tough, the weak get tricky—Arnold is a good and sympathetic character, the whole story drawn together by Renger’s easygoing cartoon illustrations

The final word: there is more than one way to teach a wolf some manners. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: March 1, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-4413-2650-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Peter Pauper Press

Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2017

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DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE SLEIGH!

A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.

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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

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PIRATES DON'T TAKE BATHS

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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