This isn’t a Halloween treat to savor; skip it.
Even a vampire’s skills need propping up.
In Transylvania, a diminutive young vampire is distressed when his puny shadow fails to frighten a little girl. He tells her that if he can’t scare anyone, he won’t pass his upcoming “tezt.” (This vamp substitutes “z” for “s” and “th.”) His fate if that happens? He’ll go to “banana peeler zchool.” Pitying him, the girl offers to help. The next evening, she encounters a gigantic shadow cast by the vampire, greatly enlarged from what it would be naturally thanks to interesting props. The girl faints in mock terror. The vampire’s cronies congratulate him on his success, and he receives a medal for “biggest scare.” The wee ghoul thanks his friend for her assistance and boost to his self-confidence. In a concluding twist, the girl thanks him for helping her overcome her fear of vampires! This odd, unfunny Portuguese import has glaring problems: The vampire explained he could fail his exam next day but didn’t manage his “scare” until the next evening. What happened at the exam? More problematic are the Z’s in the vamp’s speech: Instead of being comical, they’re offensive gibes at “foreign” accents. Additionally, the “banana peelers” are depicted insultingly as unintelligent, with dangling tongues and crossed eyes, as if their task is too difficult. Loose, cartoonish illustrations are colorful; numerous pages feature purplish backgrounds. Humans present White. A Spanish version publishes simultaneously.
This isn’t a Halloween treat to savor; skip it. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-84-17673-85-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: NubeOcho
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children.
Interior decorator and TV personality Gaines invites readers to open their eyes and exercise their imaginations.
There’s a world to be explored out there—and only children can really take part. What does “looking for wonder” entail? Slowing down and looking up, around, and everywhere. At the outset, a group of eager, racially diverse young friends—including one who uses a wheelchair—are fully prepared for a grand adventure. They offer tips about how and where to look: Why, there’s a “grand parade” of marching ants! And, these kids add, perspective is key. A rainy day might signal gloom to some, but to those filled with wonder, showers bring “magic puddles for play”; a forest is “an enchanted world,” the ocean conceals “a spectacular city,” and the night sky boasts “extraordinary sights.” The takeaway: “Wonder is never in short supply.” It’s a robust, empowering message, as is the exhortation to “keep your mind open, and let curiosity guide the way.” Youngsters are also advised to share their discoveries. The upbeat narrative is delivered in clunky verse, but the colorful cartoonish illustrations brimming with activity and good cheer (including some adorable anthropomorphized animals in the backgrounds) make up for the textual lapses and should motivate readers to embark on their own “wonder explorations.”
Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781400247417
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tommy Nelson
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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