Holiday enchantment.
A child wakes to find Santa delivering presents, then spends the night peppering him with questions.
Caregivers will relate to Santa as he endures a seemingly endless barrage of questions. He is asked everything from “Did you read my letter?” to “Is your belly button innie or out?” St. Nick never replies—he can’t get a word in edgewise—but the child is cheerfully undeterred. Still asking question after question, the youngster joins Santa as he delivers more gifts and then heads to the North Pole. The text rhymes, though the rhyme scheme is inconsistent, making for a well-paced if slightly bumpy reading experience. The illustrations have a soft, smudged effect that evokes the feeling of a hazy memory or a fantasy—an apt pairing for the text, since at the book’s end, the child isn’t sure whether the experience was real or just a dream. The combination of warm yellows and deep blues conveys both winter’s cold and the holiday’s warmth. Jarvis incorporates fun details, such as a miniature Santa in a snow globe, curious pets looking on, and an elf directing the reindeer landing when Santa returns home. Clad in traditional garb and a pair of small spectacles, Santa is light-skinned, while the child is brown-skinned. The young protagonist’s dogged curiosity makes for a wholly original Yuletide tale, infused with the magic and wonder of Christmas.
Holiday enchantment. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781536238839
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers.
The bestselling series (How to Catch an Elf, 2016, etc.) about capturing mythical creatures continues with a story about various ways to catch the Easter Bunny as it makes its annual deliveries.
The bunny narrates its own story in rhyming text, beginning with an introduction at its office in a manufacturing facility that creates Easter eggs and candy. The rabbit then abruptly takes off on its delivery route with a tiny basket of eggs strapped to its back, immediately encountering a trap with carrots and a box propped up with a stick. The narrative focuses on how the Easter Bunny avoids increasingly complex traps set up to catch him with no explanation as to who has set the traps or why. These traps include an underground tunnel, a fluorescent dance floor with a hidden pit of carrots, a robot bunny, pirates on an island, and a cannon that shoots candy fish, as well as some sort of locked, hazardous site with radiation danger. Readers of previous books in the series will understand the premise, but others will be confused by the rabbit’s frenetic escapades. Cartoon-style illustrations have a 1960s vibe, with a slightly scary, bow-tied bunny with chartreuse eyes and a glowing palette of neon shades that shout for attention.
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3817-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Fans of this popular series will find this a rewarding addition to family Easter celebrations.
Bergren and Bryant attempt to explain Easter to young children in a gentle, nonthreatening manner, with partial success.
When Little Cub questions her father about Easter, Papa Bear explains the religious significance of the holiday in various symbolic ways to his cub. He uses familiar things from their world, such as an egg and a fallen tree, to draw parallels with aspects of the Christian story. Papa Bear discusses his close relationships with Jesus and God, encouraging Little Cub to communicate with God on her own. The theme focuses on the renewal of life and the positive aspects of loving God and Jesus. Easter is presented as a celebration of eternal life, but the story skirts the issue of the crucifixion entirely. Some adults will find this an inadequate or even dishonest approach to the Easter story, but others will appreciate the calm and soothing text as a way to begin to understand a difficult subject. Bryant’s charming watercolor illustrations of the polar bear family, their cozy home and snowy forest scenes add to the overall mellow effect.
Fans of this popular series will find this a rewarding addition to family Easter celebrations. (Religion/picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-307-73072-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: WaterBrook
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2013
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