Rich illustrations and a snappy rhyming text reinforce the power of inner strength.
A porcupine is put to the test.
Like all North American porcupines, Penny Lu can’t see much, other than what’s directly in front of her, though her sense of smell is “swell!” At a visual disadvantage, “She must always beware…of cougars, coyotes, and even…THE BEAR!” Luckily, Penny Lu has a built-in defense mechanism: pointy quills that, when activated, “make her look bigger” and “feel braver.” She also has a battle cry—“I’m big and I’m brave and I’m prickly, too! So leave me alone, or I’ll come after YOU!”—all of which makes her a tough customer. When she encounters what she thinks is a bear, Penny Lu is courageous in the face of what turns out to be rocks and a stump, but when she finally meets a real bear, she panics. Things look grim, but those instinctive defenses finally kick in, and with a mighty shout, Penny Lu shows the bear what she’s made of (quills). Gilstrap’s well-constructed rhyming narrative demands to be read aloud. Readers will delight in Lechuga’s velvety illustrations, which include details such as a praying mantis’s intimidating posturing, a startled owl, and watchful predators lurking in the background. In an author’s note, Gilstrap provides information about porcupines and insight into her own childhood panic disorder, both of which enrich the story and invite conversation about bravery in the face of anxiety.
Rich illustrations and a snappy rhyming text reinforce the power of inner strength. (Picture book. 2-6)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9780593326275
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
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