Blessings abound for the autumnal holiday, with these happy kids and (behind the scenes) grateful parents.
A resourceful big sister and helpful little brother set up breakfast in the family's newly decorated Sukkah and figure out a way to quietly enjoy it with some good friends while parents sleep.
Early risers on this Sukkot morning, Sadie and Ori are very excited, but they know they must not wake their parents. Admiring their decorative handiwork on the Sukkah they built last night, the siblings decide to bring breakfast out to the festive hut. Working together, they prepare a tray—“Sadie got the cereal. / Ori got the spoons. / Ori got the bowls. / Sadie got the milk.” And when juice, challah rolls, cups and napkins make the tray too heavy, then—“Sadie got the juice. / Ori got the cups. / Ori got the napkins. / Sadie got the challah rolls,” each bringing an item out to the Sukkah table, setting up “an elegant breakfast.” Seeking to complete the experience with the required invited guests for this holiday meal, Sadie and Ori fill seats at their Sukkah table with a menagerie of favorite stuffed animal friends. Lively, colorful illustrations depict these independently capable preschoolers performing tasks with active joy, care and assurance, deftly matching the unadorned, sprightly text.
Blessings abound for the autumnal holiday, with these happy kids and (behind the scenes) grateful parents. (note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7613-5647-9
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: Aug. 9, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Cookie-cutter predictability.
After all the daring escapes in the How To Catch… series, will the kids be able to catch Santa?
Oddly, previous installments saw the children trying (and failing) to catch an elf and a reindeer, but both are easily captured in this story. Santa, however, is slippery. Tempted but not fooled by poinsettias, a good book (attached to a slingshot armed with a teddy bear projectile), and, of course, milk and cookies, Santa foils every plan. The hero in a red suit has a job to do. Presents must be placed, and lists must be checked. He has no time for traps and foolery (except if you’re the elf, who falls for every one of them). Luckily, Santa helps the little rascal escape each time. Little is new here—the kids resort to similar snares found in previous works: netting, lures, and technological wonders such as the Santa Catcher 5000. Although the rhythm falters quite a bit (“How did we get out you ask? / It looked like we were done for. / Santa’s magic is very real, / and I cannot reveal more”), fans of the series may not mind. Santa and Christmas just might be enough to overcome the flaws. Santa and the elf are light-skinned, one of the children is brown-skinned, and the other presents as Asian. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Cookie-cutter predictability. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781728274270
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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