Perfectly silly.
A bear’s seemingly terrifying actions aren’t quite what they appear.
“Don’t look at me and think that I’m ferocious,” a large, lumpy grizzly implores readers. “I am not. I am friendly. I’ve been thoughtful my whole life.” Kind eyes and a tentative raised paw seal the deal. But it’s tough to be seen as considerate when you’re so imposing. Noticing a yellow-bellied marmot who’s running low on snacks, the bear lumbers forward, arms raised, to alert the marmot to the best spot for grass. Of course, the marmot immediately runs in the other direction, and the bear has to give chase. And when a rabbit is about to leap into its burrow, the bear plucks it from midair: “Careful, rabbit. You don’t want to fall into that deep hole.” (Yes, that is exactly what it wants to do!) Oblivious to the bunny’s terror, our ursine hero scoops it up and promises to find it a carrot. The fundamental disconnect between the well-meaning bear and the frightened wildlife will keep readers giggling. With guidance from adults, this one may spark discussions of motivation, intent, and self-perception vs. reality. Kraan relies on cheery greens and yellows to bring to life the woodland meadow, while the animals are cartoonish, with hilariously over-the-top reactions.
Perfectly silly. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 21, 2024
ISBN: 9780374391188
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 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
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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