A gentle tale with important messaging about mindfulness.
Grammy Award–winning singer/songwriter Morris teams up with Argow, an educator and her longtime best friend, for a companion to Addie Ant Goes on an Adventure (2024), this time focusing on a butterfly with a case of the blahs.
Beatrix Butterfly can’t face her lengthy to-do list. All she can do is huddle under the covers and chide herself for her lack of industry. But when mail carrier Ellis Squirrel arrives, he advises that she forget her list and just “wing it.” Beatrix appreciates the fresh perspective. She recalls a task she’d promised to do for her friend Lewis Ladybug—gathering rose petals for an upcoming performance—and completes it. Delivering her cargo, Beatrix apologizes for her lateness. Lewis isn’t bothered and urges Beatrix to take the time to appreciate the beautiful surroundings. Beatrix does additional favors for Lewis and a mutual pal. Then, she and her friends enjoy Lewis’ “much-buzzed-about one-bug show.” Beatrix is delighted to have helped others—and to have “winged it.” The story feels preachy at times, with characters pausing to deliver grand pronouncements. Still, the authors make valuable points about not pushing oneself and to take the time to refresh oneself and appreciate one’s surroundings. The colors of plants and wildlife in the illustrations pop against the pages. Beatrix and company are wide-eyed and fetching.
A gentle tale with important messaging about mindfulness. (information on butterflies) (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 8, 2025
ISBN: 9781797235035
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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
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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