A throwback to an earlier era of children’s publishing, in the absolute best of ways.
A young girl befriends a frightened zebra—and a host of other animals.
Rundell’s three-part text is longer than that of most contemporary picture books, like something from William Steig or Roald Dahl. And what a story it is! Mink, a light-skinned, dark-haired girl, forms a telepathic bond with a young zebra. Named Gabriel, the zebra has escaped from bad guy Mr. Spit, a light-skinned animal collector who seems styled after Snidely Whiplash. He and all the characters Ogilvie illustrates are filled with a vitality that would do Quentin Blake proud, heightening the story’s humor and helping to visualize how Mink wordlessly communicates with Gabriel and the other animals they encounter. First, they enlist the help of Rainbow, a grumpy dog with a heart of gold. He activates something of an animal-kingdom whisper network that sends a message to find Gabriel’s parents, whom Mr. Spit has imprisoned as the last victims in his dastardly plan to capture, kill, stuff, and display a pair of animals for each letter of the alphabet. But Mink stirs up good mischief as she and the animals join forces to defeat Mr. Spit. Baked into this satisfying story are messages about compassion, courage, and helping others, morals that are effortlessly integrated.
A throwback to an earlier era of children’s publishing, in the absolute best of ways. (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2024
ISBN: 9781481491631
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
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 brisk if bland offering for series fans, but cleverer metafictive romps abound.
The titular cookie runs off the page at a bookstore storytime, pursued by young listeners and literary characters.
Following on 13 previous How To Catch… escapades, Wallace supplies sometimes-tortured doggerel and Elkerton, a set of helter-skelter cartoon scenes. Here the insouciant narrator scampers through aisles, avoiding a series of elaborate snares set by the racially diverse young storytime audience with help from some classic figures: “Alice and her mad-hat friends, / as a gift for my unbirthday, / helped guide me through the walls of shelves— / now I’m bound to find my way.” The literary helpers don’t look like their conventional or Disney counterparts in the illustrations, but all are clearly identified by at least a broad hint or visual cue, like the unnamed “wizard” who swoops in on a broom to knock over a tower labeled “Frogwarts.” Along with playing a bit fast and loose with details (“Perhaps the boy with the magic beans / saved me with his cow…”) the author discards his original’s lip-smacking climax to have the errant snack circling back at last to his book for a comfier sort of happily-ever-after.
A brisk if bland offering for series fans, but cleverer metafictive romps abound. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-0935-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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