An amusing trifle for those that like animal stories.
Ozzy is about to be a mother when lions arrive for an attack!
This Spanish import starts as a quiet, repetitive counting book, as first one, then two, then “three ostriches found three flowers.” The counting motif continues as one, then two, then “three lions saw three ostriches, licked their lips and their whiskers and claws, and thought: YUM! YUM! YUM!” But then there is a break in the pattern. Ozzy, the first ostrich, lays her egg, spies the predatory lions, and angrily yells: “Nah-nana-naa-nah…Not you, nor you, nor you can get this egg!” There is an anxious moment when the lions advance toward the three large birds, but at Ozzy’s “whistle” command, “the big birds buried their heads in the sand.” At Ozzy’s second signal, their heads come up, and they shout: “BOO!” The effect of this action is quite bizarre; the lions are so frightened that one “turned white,” the second “lost all of his fur,” and the last lion’s “teeth fell out.” There are more physical transformations in store, and the lions actually become friends with the ostriches, until three new lions appear. Who can save the friends from these new enemies? Humorous paintings, full of action and set in an imaginary African savanna, accompany a silly but rhythmic text that sometimes sounds like a folk tale. It is also available in Spanish as El Avestruz Mariluz.
An amusing trifle for those that like animal stories. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 12, 2017
ISBN: 978-84-945415-9-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: NubeOcho
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
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
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
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