Fun and silly—but sure to inspire kids to dream big.
A young girl wonders what she’ll be when she grows up.
Ellie Mae, who presents as East Asian, loves school but doesn’t like assignments with lots of choices. It’s just too hard to make decisions. So when her class is asked to dress up as what they want to be when they grow up, Ellie Mae struggles. After much thinking, and eating, she finds inspiration in her grilled cheese sandwich—she’s heard that the moon might be made of cheese, which makes her decide to dress up as an astronaut-chef. But what about dessert? Ellie Mae next hits upon the idea of becoming a candy-farmer. With each idea spurring the next, Ellie Mae comes up with more and more fun possible dual-career ideas: a pirate-dentist! A zookeeper-teacher! Her mind racing, Ellie Mae takes a deep breath to slow her thoughts until she comes up with the perfect solution. Funny and imaginative Ellie Mae teaches readers to dream big and believe they can become anything. While readers will laugh at the fun ideas and silly pictures, the message is clear: The sky’s the limit when it comes to career choices. The book also demonstrates a way to calm down when overwhelmed. Ellie Mae is spontaneous and quirky, with lots of emotions and creativity, brought to life by vivid, candy-colored illustrations.
Fun and silly—but sure to inspire kids to dream big. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781728256122
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2023
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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