Ideal for those learning that efforts matter more than outcomes.
A petite porker strives for perfection.
It is Madame Paradee’s birthday, and Piglette must find a present. She wanders around Paris, peering into shop windows, but nothing seems right. Then a delicious smell catches her snout. There, in the window of Chef Pistache’s patisserie, are the most delectable confections! Piglette will learn how to bake and create a masterpiece cake for Madame Paradee. The idea is…perfect. However, baking is very precise, and Piglette produces more flops than flawless pastries. “Oh, piddle! I can’t disappoint Madame Paradee on her special day.” Piglette rolls up her sleeves and practices. On the day of the party, it is impossible to choose just one dessert to prepare, so she makes an Eiffel Tower of piled-high treats (depicted on a gatefold that requires a 90-degree turn to view). But: “Plip!…Plop!…PLOOP!”—suddenly the pastries start to fall! Piglette learns that perfectionism can be pretty painful. Brimming with alliteration, this tale of a sophisticated swine caters to Fancy Nancy fans, but Piglette also holds her own with those not so easily impressed with pink ruffles. Piglette’s determination and pluck shine. Byrne’s pictures are flooded with swirls, sugar, and sparkles, adding mouthwatering flair. Chef Pistache’s habit of speaking in rhyme when the narration and none of the other characters employ it is a bit baffling, however. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10.5-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 20% of actual size.)
Ideal for those learning that efforts matter more than outcomes. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 25, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-20453-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
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
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends.
Is it a stormy-night scare or a bedtime book? Both!
Little Blue Truck and his good friend Toad are heading home when a storm lets loose. Before long, their familiar, now very nervous barnyard friends (Goat, Hen, Goose, Cow, Duck, and Pig) squeeze into the garage. Blue explains that “clouds bump and tumble in the sky, / but here inside we’re warm and dry, / and all the thirsty plants below / will get a drink to help them grow!” The friends begin to relax. “Duck said, loud as he could quack it, / ‘THUNDER’S JUST A NOISY RACKET!’ ” In the quiet after the storm, the barnyard friends are sleepy, but the garage is not their home. “ ‘Beep!’ said Blue. ‘Just hop inside. / All aboard for the bedtime ride!’ ” Young readers will settle down for their own bedtimes as Blue and Toad drop each friend at home and bid them a good night before returning to the garage and their own beds. “Blue gave one small sleepy ‘Beep.’ / Then Little Blue Truck fell fast asleep.” Joseph’s rich nighttime-blue illustrations (done “in the style of [series co-creator] Jill McElmurry”) highlight the power of the storm and capture the still serenity that follows. Little Blue Truck has been chugging along since 2008, but there seems to be plenty of gas left in the tank.
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-85213-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
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