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SPIKY

Despite potentially appealing art and a worthwhile anti-bullying theme, friendship and coming-of-age stories are better done...

At first this looks like one of those stories where the scary beast really isn’t, but it turns out the creature aptly named Spiky really is as bad as he looks.

Brown, spiny Spiky is so ugly he’s almost cute, with his googly eyes, exaggeratedly pursed lips, and absurdly skinny arms and hands. Some of the stuff he does doesn’t really seem so bad, like sticking his tongue out at trees, but some of it really is, such as pulling wings off butterflies, which jars readers out of initial levity. In a rather strange turn of events, his spikes fall off and he finds himself smooth, pink, and defenseless. There’s no reason stated for this or for how or why his spikes regrow, but during his time without them, he must learn how to get along with other creatures. Once his spikes regrow, he’s confused about how to act but ends up remaining his nicer self. Details in the digitally rendered art add amusement; from the fact that his houseplants are all cactuses to the mice—or perhaps tiny, frowning hedgehogs—running around his house also being spiky. Unfortunately, Spiky is bad and mean at first when he’s brown; he’s not mean or threatening when his skin is pink, which delivers a distressing, disturbing subtext.

Despite potentially appealing art and a worthwhile anti-bullying theme, friendship and coming-of-age stories are better done elsewhere. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: July 1, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-5420-4043-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Amazon Crossing Kids

Review Posted Online: March 11, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019

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LOVE FROM THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR

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

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I LOVE YOU, MY LITTLE DINOSAUR

A SWEET, SELF-ESTEEM PICTURE BOOK FOR KIDS!

Whether spoken by a dinosaur or a human, this parental message clearly radiates “I’ve loved you from the start.”

The cover’s glowing golden stars are but a small hint of the parent-child love inside.

In this companion book to the creators’ I Love You, My Little Unicorn (2022), a world full of digitally created dinosaurs illustrated in eye-catching colors dominates the pages. From the start, it’s clear that dinosaur parents have the same hopes and dreams for their offspring that human parents do. Readers don’t have to be dinosaur fans to smile when the parent-and-child dinosaur pairs playfully interact and share loving glances. Take special note of the ankylosauruses, whose tails arc to form a heart beneath a sky filled with heart-shaped clouds. The text in verse shares words of unconditional parental love and support and wisdom (“please remember all these things / that I want you to know”), appropriate for humans and dinos alike. “Roar with all your might!” “Spread your wings and fly.” “Use your voice, and ask for help.” There’s even a caveat that some “days will be dark / and other shades of gray.” But “there’s always brightness up ahead.” While the loving sentiments in the storytelling are clear, words are sometimes inverted to make the rhyme work, and the verse doesn’t always follow a consistent meter, but prereading will let the story shine during quiet snuggle times.

Whether spoken by a dinosaur or a human, this parental message clearly radiates “I’ve loved you from the start.” (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Dec. 5, 2023

ISBN: 9781728268361

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland

Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023

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