A blooming tale of teamwork and community.
At the Grand Bug Hotel, blooming flowers must be pollinated to reap a crop of fruits and vegetables for everyone to enjoy at the Garden Party.
Queen Bee has terrible allergies, and her sneezing is preventing her from orchestrating the annual pollination event. Flicker, an earnest and helpful firefly, offers to coordinate the effort and begins to enlist her fellow bugs. Everyone, however, seems uninterested or is too busy. Roly Poly would rather practice ninja kicks, while Dazzle, a butterfly, is too involved in tinkering with an invention. Flicker launches into a quick plea about the necessity of pollination for the plants to produce good food, and her friends quickly agree to share the hard, messy work of pollination while singing a work song. The story arc’s conflict and resolution are depicted in bright, bold spring colors in scenes of a vibrant garden infused with golden yellow clusters of pollen. While Queen Bee gives a very loose explanation of the scientific concept—“Every year, the bugs and butterflies must gather pollen from the flowers…and carry it to the fruit and vegetable plants in the garden”—the book lacks backmatter with more information on pollinators. Still, overall, it’s a rousing and upbeat tale of cooperation that also sheds some light on a scientific process. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A blooming tale of teamwork and community. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-8075-2517-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
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
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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