For anyone who can’t decide between Halloween surprises and Christmas cheer, here’s a holiday smorgasbord of monsters and one tiny mouse serving as Santa with a sleigh pulled by eight bats. Sierra and Hillenbrand (The House That Drac Built, 1995) collaborate again with another innovation on a well-known text, this time following the pattern of “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” to create a circular tale of monsters each pointing a finger or paw of blame at another monster. Each monster suffers some minor mishap (a werewolf’s pinched tail; a mummy falling into the stew) with the whole chain of events set off by the Santa mouse when he tickled the dragon’s nose. The werewolf reconstructs the whole chain of events (in reverse order from the previous telling), and the Santa mouse apologizes and reads the group a story, The House That Drac Built, naturally. Hillenbrand’s clever illustrations of all the nonscary monsters stand out in blood red and bright purple against muted, granite-gray backgrounds. He also includes thematically designed stockings for each monster and a tiny spider that can be found on each spread. Although the story is entertaining for its unique juxtaposing of Halloween and Christmas elements, it also contains some subtle logic lessons in sequential thinking. Legions of little monster fans will find this innovation more fun than the original. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-15-201805-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Gulliver/Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2002
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree.
A Christmas edition of the beloved alphabet book.
The story starts off nearly identically to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989), written by John Archambault and the late Bill Martin Jr, with the letters A, B, and C deciding to meet in the branches of a tree. This time, they’re attempting to scale a Christmas tree, not a coconut tree, and the letters are strung together like garland. A, B, and C are joined by the other letters, and of course they all “slip, slop, topple, plop!” right down the tree. At the bottom, they discover an assortment of gifts, all in a variety of shapes. As a team, the letters and presents organize themselves to get back up on the Christmas tree and get a star to the top. Holiday iterations of favorite tales often fall flat, but this take succeeds. The gifts are an easy way to reinforce another preschool concept—shapes—and the text uses just enough of the original to be familiar. The rhyming works, sticking to the cadence of the source material. The illustrations pay homage to the late Lois Ehlert’s, featuring the same bold block letters, though they lack some of the whimsy and personality of the original. Otherwise, everything is similarly brightly colored and simply drawn. Those familiar with the classic will be drawn to this one, but newcomers can enjoy it on its own.
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665954761
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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
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