Snowsuits, the bane of every child’s snow-filled days, are the focus of this hilarious tale. Poor Lucille just wants to frolic in the snow with her older siblings, who are stylishly attired in sleek snow pants and parkas, complete with jaunty little hats. However, Lucille’s mother decrees she must wear her dreaded snowsuit, and Lasky (First Painter, see above) comically captures the epic struggle required to get one reluctant tot into it. Lucille’s tussle with her attire entails all the calamities that can befall youngsters endeavoring to dress themselves; a jammed zipper, a sock that mysteriously disappears into the abyss of a pant leg—resulting in one overheated piglet. “ ‘I’m hot. I’m sweating. My sock’s lost. My zipper’s stuck. I hate snowsuits!’ Lucille roared.” Lucille’s mother is almost saintly in her compassionate but unyielding stance, gently coaxing her frustrated child to don her suit. Eventually the steamy piglet is lured outside for some snow play and Lucille makes a miraculous discovery. Toasty in her snowsuit, she outlasts her siblings in the frosty air. While Franklin and Frances retreat indoors to defrost, Lucille is free to enjoy the splendor of a winter’s day. Hafner’s boldly colored illustrations are uproariously funny, deftly conveying Lucille’s evolving moods through her body language and facial expressions, giving readers a real sense of her personality. Mothers everywhere will send up a cheer for this wonderfully funny tale that shows mother does know best. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-517-80037-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2000
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
This multigenerational snuggle will encourage the sharing of old memories and the creation of new ones.
Hill and Bobbiesi send a humungous hug from grandmothers to their granddaughters everywhere.
Delicate cartoon art adds details to the rhyming text showing multigenerational commonalities. “You and I are alike in such wonderful ways. / You will see more and more as you grow” (as grandmother and granddaughter enjoy the backyard together); “I wobbled uncertainly just as you did / whenever I tried something new” (as a toddler takes first steps); “And if a bad dream woke me up in the night, / I snuggled up with my lovey too” (grandmother kisses granddaughter, who clutches a plush narwhal). Grandmother-granddaughter pairs share everyday joys like eating ice cream, dancing “in the rain,” and making “up silly games.” Although some activities skew stereotypically feminine (baking, yoga), a grandmother helps with a quintessential volcano experiment (this pair presents black, adding valuable STEM representation), another cheers on a young wheelchair athlete (both present Asian), and a third, wearing a hijab, accompanies her brown-skinned granddaughter on a peace march, as it is “important to speak out for what you believe.” The message of unconditional love is clear throughout: “When you need me, I’ll be there to listen and care. / There is nothing that keeps us apart.” The finished book will include “stationery…for a special letter from Grandma to you!”
This multigenerational snuggle will encourage the sharing of old memories and the creation of new ones. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-0623-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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