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ANGELINA AND THE PRINCESS

Name: ANGELINA AND THE PRINCESS
Author: Katharine Holabird
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6961-7

From the Angelina Ballerina series

by Katharine Holabird ; illustrated by Helen Craig ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1984

If Holabird can continue to come up with empathic roles for Angelina, the series should have a devoted following.

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Angelina the winsome mouse ballerina, who debuted auspiciously last year, here encounters the perils of the performing life. On the day of tryouts for a special Royal Performance, she sneaks off with her ballet bag unbeknownst to her mother—busy in the kitchen of their thatched English snuggery (while a mouse Pierrot, one of many visual grace-notes, slumps mournfully at the window). But once on stage she gets dizzy and falls—and the leading roles in the Dance of the Flower Fairies go to Flora and Felicity. Mama is reproachful, then consoling, then affirmative: "You can still do your best with whatever part you are given, and that will help the whole performance." Angelina not only learns her own part, she memorizes the Dance of the Flower Fairies—and when Flora sprains her ankle the day of the Royal Performance, who do you think…? But this is a kindly story, so Flora gets to sit right next to the Princess of Mouseland—whom she eyes worshipfully, while all other eyes are on the stage. Like its predecessor, this is a dainty, even delectable-looking book without the least preciousness. If Holabird can continue to come up with empathic roles for Angelina, the series should have a devoted following. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1984

ISBN: 978-1-5344-6961-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarkson Potter

Review Posted Online: May 21, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1984

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

- BOOK REVIEW
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
by Katharine Holabird ; illustrated by Mike Deas

- BOOK REVIEW
ANGELINA'S CINDERELLA
by Katharine Holabird ; illustrated by Helen Craig

- BOOK REVIEW
ANGELINA'S BIG CITY BALLET
by Katharine Holabird ; illustrated by Helen Craig

- BOOK REVIEW
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
by Katharine Holabird ; illustrated by Mike Deas

- BOOK REVIEW
TWINKLE'S FAIRY PET DAY
by Katharine Holabird ; illustrated by Sarah Warburton

- BOOK REVIEW
TWINKLE THINKS PINK!
by Katharine Holabird ; illustrated by Sarah Warburton

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New York Times Bestseller

DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE SLEIGH!

by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 5, 2023

A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.

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Awards & Accolades

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Our Verdict

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New York Times Bestseller

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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

- BOOK REVIEW
ARE YOU SMALL?
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems

- BOOK REVIEW
ARE YOU BIG?
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems

- BOOK REVIEW
THE FRUSTRATING BOOK!
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems

PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

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PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

by James Dean ; illustrated by James Dean ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 18, 2018

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among

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Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.

If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)