Cute kitties and silly, imaginative fun make for a tale that’s perfect for preschoolers.
Three cats let their imaginations run wild as they wonder what might await them inside a mystery gift box.
Two cats ponder the contents of a white box with pink polka dots and a bow. The white cat is convinced that it must be a cake, but the orange cat thinks it might be something more sinister. A third cat joins them. Could there be a crocodile inside? Maybe a great white shark? Or, wildest of all, a 30-ton monster guinea pig? Mack ends the book with the mystery unsolved, an open question with which readers can wrestle. The pages are laid out with the cats on the left-hand side; their imagined scenarios, set inside colorful thought bubbles, play out on the right. The illustrations are simple, clear, and appealing. The cats are drawn with realistic details: plush fur, soft paws, long whiskers. The imagined side of the page has a cartoonish touch, the surprises appearing out of the box, larger than life, which makes those scenes playful rather than frightening. The moral of the story is clear: Sometimes what we imagine is scarier than reality. Some might be disappointed that the contents of the box are never revealed, but then what’s really inside isn’t actually the point. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Cute kitties and silly, imaginative fun make for a tale that’s perfect for preschoolers. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2023
ISBN: 9780823452071
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Neal Porter/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 12, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance.
A boy with wings learns to be himself and inspires others like him to soar, too.
Norman, a “perfectly normal” boy, never dreamed he might grow wings. Afraid of what his parents might say, he hides his new wings under a big, stuffy coat. Although the coat hides his wings from the world, Norman no longer finds joy in bathtime, playing at the park, swimming, or birthday parties. With the gentle encouragement of his parents, who see his sadness, Norman finds the courage to come out of hiding and soar. Percival (The Magic Looking Glass, 2017, etc.) depicts Norman with light skin and dark hair. Black-and-white illustrations show his father with dark skin and hair and his mother as white. The contrast of black-and-white illustrations with splashes of bright color complements the story’s theme. While Norman tries to be “normal,” the world and people around him look black and gray, but his coat stands out in yellow. Birds pop from the page in pink, green, and blue, emphasizing the joy and beauty of flying free. The final spread, full of bright color and multiracial children in flight, sets the mood for Norman’s realization on the last page that there is “no such thing as perfectly normal,” but he can be “perfectly Norman.”
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-785-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
Still, this young boy’s imagination is a powerful force for helping him deal with life, something that should be true for...
Oliver, of first-day-of-school alligator fame, is back, imagining adventures and still struggling to find balance between introversion and extroversion.
“When Oliver found his egg…” on the playground, mint-green backgrounds signifying Oliver’s flight into fancy slowly grow larger until they take up entire spreads; Oliver’s creature, white and dinosaurlike with orange polka dots, grows larger with them. Their adventures include sharing treats, sailing the seas and going into outer space. A classmate’s yell brings him back to reality, where readers see him sitting on top of a rock. Even considering Schmid’s scribbly style, readers can almost see the wheels turning in his head as he ponders the girl and whether or not to give up his solitary play. “But when Oliver found his rock… // Oliver imagined many adventures // with all his friends!” This last is on a double gatefold that opens to show the children enjoying the creature’s slippery curves. A final wordless spread depicts all the children sitting on rocks, expressions gleeful, wondering, waiting, hopeful. The illustrations, done in pastel pencil and digital color, again make masterful use of white space and page turns, although this tale is not nearly as funny or tongue-in-cheek as Oliver and His Alligator (2013), nor is its message as clear and immediately accessible to children.
Still, this young boy’s imagination is a powerful force for helping him deal with life, something that should be true for all children but sadly isn’t. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: July 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-7573-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
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