Bringing home a new puppy is a joyous experience and a day to remember in dog-loving homes, but the other side of the coin is often a wrenchingly sad day when a beloved pet must be taken to the vet for euthanasia. With exquisite sensitivity, first-time author Parker calmly and confidently leads readers through an elderly, beloved golden retriever’s final day. Jasper is in pain from incurable cancer, and his family (Mom, Dad, and son Riley) has agreed to make Jasper’s last day a happy one before his final trip to the vet. They feed Jasper a special breakfast, take him to the park, and then to visit Riley’s grandmother and her dog. Riley and his mother wait at home, as the father takes Jasper to the vet alone, and then they bury Jasper in their backyard, wrapped in a special blanket. Riley cries when he says goodbye to his dog, and acknowledges on the final page that Jasper’s last day was the hardest day of his young life. The final spread shows a collage of photographs that the boy is making to remember his beloved dog. Wilson (No Two Snowflakes, not reviewed, etc.) adds greatly to the volume’s success with her soft, expressive pastels that bring Jasper to life and show the tender bonds between parents and child and boy and dog. Although the story’s theme is a painful one, this thoughtful effort will be of great help to families getting ready to face a similar situation. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 1-55074-957-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
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
Turkey’s in the “kind of trouble where it’s almost Thanksgiving...and you’re the main course.” Accordingly, Turkey tries on disguise after disguise, from horse to cow to pig to sheep, at each iteration being told that he looks nothing like the animal he’s trying to mimic (which is quite true, as Harper’s quirky watercolors make crystal clear). He desperately squeezes a red rubber glove onto his head to pass as a rooster, only to overhear the farmer suggest a poultry plan B when he’s unable to turn up the turkey. Turkey’s horrified expression as he stands among the peppers and tomatoes—in November? Chalk it up to artistic license—is priceless, but his surroundings give him an idea. Good fun, but it may lead to a vegetarian table or two. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7614-5529-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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