A sweet Christmas coming-of-age tale.
Depner’s fourth installment of her Fernsnickle Hooves children’s book series sends her protagonist on a holiday adventure.
As part of a high school memoir assignment, 16-year-old Fernsnickle reflects on the most transformative year of her life, when she was 10: her first Christmas in Connecticut. As soon as she arrived at Snowenbloke Farmhouse from Miami, she was immersed in the quaint, nostalgic charm of a rural New England holiday, complete with snow and sleigh bells. However, no Fernsnickle tale would be complete without a dash of complexity. Elated to support her dear friend Mrs. Peabody’s upcoming marriage, Fernsnickle watched in shock as the re-emergence of her pal’s former love nearly derailed the nuptials. Greater still was her dismay when her best friend, Alison, fell for Fernsnickle’s own crush, Toby, who appeared to reciprocate Alison’s love. Determined to be a strong, confident young woman, Fernsnickle worked to put aside her feelings for Toby, and her angst toward Alison, to support Mrs. Peabody on her special day. Along the way, she discovered her skill at clothing design, a gift that played a precious role in her life to come. Though her first time at Snowenbloke Farmhouse shows her that relationships are not always easy, happy endings abound for most characters, as do lessons. Fernsnickle learns about the value of forgiveness and sees that life and love are full of wonderful surprises. Depner effectively ushers readers through a consistently paced, heartwarming tale, enveloping them in the cozy charm of a snowy New England holiday. With each falling snowflake, adolescent readers will delight in the machinations of a playful hero with plenty of heart. She’s shown to be smart and caring, with a flair for the dramatic—a positive role model for modern youth as she prioritizes her friends, family, and future over negativity and strife. Best of all, Fernsnickle also pursues her passion, showing readers that they, too, can be fun, sassy, and successful, all at the same time.
A sweet Christmas coming-of-age tale.Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2022
ISBN: 9798848566383
Page Count: 141
Publisher: Jelliroll, Inc
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Best for readers who have clearly indicated they would like to take their writing efforts to the next level.
A young white girl writes and illustrates a story, which is critiqued by the narrator as it is created.
The girl begins her story by drawing a Hero. Then she thinks maybe a Heroine would be better. Then she decides both will work. She places them in “a good town, filled with good people, called our Setting.” The narrator, an unseen editor who lurks over the artist’s shoulder, tells the storyteller she needs to put in some Conflict, make the Evil Overlord scarier, and give it better action. This tongue-in-cheek way of delivering the rules of creative writing is clever, and paired with Le Huche’s earnest, childlike illustrations, it seems to be aimed at giving helpful direction to aspiring young creators (although the illustrations are not critiqued). But the question needs to be asked: do very young writers really need to know the rules of writing as determined by adults? While the story appears to be about helping young readers learn writing—there is “A Friendly List of Words Used in this Book” at the end with such words as “protagonist” and “antagonist” (glossed as “Hero and Heroine” and “Evil Overlord,” respectively)—it also has a decidedly unhelpful whiff of judgment. Rules, the text seems to say, must be followed for the story to be a Good one. Ouch.
Best for readers who have clearly indicated they would like to take their writing efforts to the next level. (Picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-2935-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
Will leave readers as happy as a pig in mud.
It’s good to embrace change.
Although an unseen narrator attempts to tell an accustomed version of “The Three Little Pigs”—here named Alan, Alfred, and Alvin Albert—their younger sister, Alison, wants to get in on the action because she’s a natural storyteller. The narrator grudgingly allows Alison to tag along, but her added bits of flavor and the unexpected personalities of her brothers soon send the story off its traditional tracks and into hilarious hijinks. For example, Alan’s love of building allows him to design a functional house made of plastic drinking straws, Alfred’s stick house is actually constructed by Alan because Alfred’s clearly a star and not stage crew, and Alvin’s shacking up in a pumpkin behind Cinderella’s castle because he’s…not the crispiest piece of bacon on the plate. Alison’s quick thinking leads the brothers to be one step ahead of the wandering wolf. When the narrator hits their limit, a conversation with Alison proves that collaboration can lead to unexpected but wonderful results. The story flows well, accompanied by energetic cartoon art, and the choice to color-code the speech bubbles of each character (and the text of the narrator vs. Alison) ensures readers will be able to follow the snappy dialogue. Those who love to make up their own stories will be inspired, and readers who march to the beats of their own drums will be delighted. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Will leave readers as happy as a pig in mud. (Picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-3243-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Two Lions
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
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