Librarians, caregivers, and children will delight in the message: family reading time is family fun.
A story about the joy of sharing stories.
Moose is a storyteller. Each evening, with his family seated comfortably around a roaring fireplace in a cozy home, he regales them with a tale. But one evening he runs out of stories and must go around to his neighbors to borrow one. None of the critters—Bear, Badger, Hare, or Mole—has one, so Moose drives into town to visit the library the next day. There, the very helpful librarian, a goose wearing eyeglasses, fills his arms with classic fairy tales. Moose’s read-aloud skills are so great that his little house is soon overflowing with animal families. This dilemma leads to Moose refurbishing a bus as a bookmobile, which leads to reading lessons for the neighborhood, which leads to high circulation figures for the library and many family storytimes. But Moose is such a good teller the animals still enjoy returning to his home for more. Pencil, pastel, and watercolor illustrations fill the pages with verdant landscapes, old-time–y vehicles, and quaint English country homes. There are many inviting scenes of animal families reading together while snuggled up in comfy furniture. All of the animals go unclothed, walk upright, and have very friendly faces.
Librarians, caregivers, and children will delight in the message: family reading time is family fun. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1767-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
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
Sadly, the storytelling runs aground.
A little red sleigh has big Christmas dreams.
Although the detailed, full-color art doesn’t anthropomorphize the protagonist (which readers will likely identify as a sled and not a sleigh), a close third-person text affords the object thoughts and feelings while assigning feminine pronouns. “She longed to become Santa’s big red sleigh,” reads an early line establishing the sleigh’s motivation to leave her Christmas-shop home for the North Pole. Other toys discourage her, but she perseveres despite creeping self-doubt. A train and truck help the sleigh along, and when she wishes she were big, fast, and powerful like them, they offer encouragement and counsel patience. When a storm descends after the sleigh strikes out on her own, an unnamed girl playing in the snow brings her to a group of children who all take turns riding the sleigh down a hill. When the girl brings her home, the sleigh is crestfallen she didn’t reach the North Pole. A convoluted happily-ever-after ending shows a note from Santa that thanks the sleigh for giving children joy and invites her to the North Pole next year. “At last she understood what she was meant to do. She would build her life up spreading joy, one child at a time.” Will she leave the girl’s house to be gifted to other children? Will she stay and somehow also reach ever more children? Readers will be left wondering. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 31.8% of actual size.)
Sadly, the storytelling runs aground. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-72822-355-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
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