Gentle, reassuring, and persuasive.
Hedgehog Hector loves his home, but it shouldn’t prevent him from going out.
There’s so much to do—cooking, playing the piano, snuggling on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate, etc.—that Hector never feels like going outside. His squirrel friend Archie knocks on the door of Hector’s tree and invites him outside to make footprints in the snow. Excited, Hector runs to find his boots. But then he begins to worry: What if he catches a cold outside? He decides to stay home. The next day, Max the mouse calls with the news that the lake has frozen; it’s perfect for ice skating! Hector gets excited again, but then he starts to worry. What if he falls and hurts himself? Hector stays home. The next day, Hector receives a party invitation, with “Music, Dancing, and Hot Chocolate for everyone!” Once again, nerves supersede excitement, and he decides to stay home. But after a fitful night’s sleep, in the morning he swallows his fear, puts on his best bow tie, and goes to the party. Archie and Max greet Hector warmly, and enjoyment finally takes over. A three-page afterword offers advice to caregivers on dealing with children who worry. Rooks treats her subject with a light touch and age-appropriate language, and her anthropomorphized animals, created with what appear to be watercolors, are delightful.
Gentle, reassuring, and persuasive. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4338-2868-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Magination/American Psychological Association
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
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
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
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