The tale of the clever con artist who just happens to be a feline is retold with flair and a knowing wink. Puss devises a plot to empower and enrich his young master that concludes with a happy ending for all, with the possible exception of the ogre. The young master who becomes Lord Fortunato is as much a pawn in Puss’s game as any of the others, but he is a willing one. There is no whitewash here: Puss remains the hero in spite of the fact that just about everything he says and does involves deceptions and tricks. Phooey on morals; children have loved this tale of trickery for centuries. Cech employs a mixture of traditional and modern syntax and sensibilities that keeps the action lively and light. Oberdieck’s colorful and detailed illustrations perfectly complement the text’s style. The settings, costumes and accoutrements evoke a general medieval atmosphere, while the characters’ facial expressions often seem knowing and modern. Delicious, naughty fun. (Picture book/folktale. 4-9)
Pub Date: April 6, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4027-4436-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2010
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
Turkey’s in the “kind of trouble where it’s almost Thanksgiving...and you’re the main course.” Accordingly, Turkey tries on disguise after disguise, from horse to cow to pig to sheep, at each iteration being told that he looks nothing like the animal he’s trying to mimic (which is quite true, as Harper’s quirky watercolors make crystal clear). He desperately squeezes a red rubber glove onto his head to pass as a rooster, only to overhear the farmer suggest a poultry plan B when he’s unable to turn up the turkey. Turkey’s horrified expression as he stands among the peppers and tomatoes—in November? Chalk it up to artistic license—is priceless, but his surroundings give him an idea. Good fun, but it may lead to a vegetarian table or two. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7614-5529-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2009
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