Readers will cheer this princess’s gumption and almost unfailing optimism as she navigates disappointment and a momentary...
Geraldine returns in her fifth adventure with as much “sparkle” as ever. She is preparing to sing at the Winter Wonderland Festival and hopes she will be the star of the concert.
Andrews and Hamilton tell the tale in first person from Geraldine’s charmingly spirited point of view. Her excitement about the upcoming event and her hoped-for part in it is delivered with a peppering of exclamatory sentences: “I get to sing with the chorus!” and “I am the most ENTHUSIASTIC singer in our school!” She would love to be chosen to sing the solo, but her bubble is burst when Mr. Higginbottom announces that a professional singer will be performing the cherished part. Her family attempts to cheer her up, and she gets ready for the big day. When a snowstorm keeps the guest singer from arriving on time, this princess is ready—“Fairy princesses are ALWAYS happy to lend a hand in a crisis.” As she is about to go on stage, Geraldine realizes she has left her dress-up shoes at home. Big boots won’t do and neither will her mismatched socks with one big toe poking out. A last-minute decision to paint purple ballet slippers on her socks at first leads to anxiety, but her princesslike poise swells with the music and “[s]uddenly [her] sparkle comes RUSHING back.” Davenier deftly illustrates all the drama in ink and colored pencil.
Readers will cheer this princess’s gumption and almost unfailing optimism as she navigates disappointment and a momentary case of stage fright. Kids are sure to applaud this encore performance. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-316-21963-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2013
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
Cookie-cutter predictability.
After all the daring escapes in the How To Catch… series, will the kids be able to catch Santa?
Oddly, previous installments saw the children trying (and failing) to catch an elf and a reindeer, but both are easily captured in this story. Santa, however, is slippery. Tempted but not fooled by poinsettias, a good book (attached to a slingshot armed with a teddy bear projectile), and, of course, milk and cookies, Santa foils every plan. The hero in a red suit has a job to do. Presents must be placed, and lists must be checked. He has no time for traps and foolery (except if you’re the elf, who falls for every one of them). Luckily, Santa helps the little rascal escape each time. Little is new here—the kids resort to similar snares found in previous works: netting, lures, and technological wonders such as the Santa Catcher 5000. Although the rhythm falters quite a bit (“How did we get out you ask? / It looked like we were done for. / Santa’s magic is very real, / and I cannot reveal more”), fans of the series may not mind. Santa and Christmas just might be enough to overcome the flaws. Santa and the elf are light-skinned, one of the children is brown-skinned, and the other presents as Asian. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Cookie-cutter predictability. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781728274270
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
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