A sweet addition to the “you’re braver than you think” shelf.
A bunny overcomes his fear of the outside world and sets off on his first adventure.
Bunny friends Logan and Luna couldn’t be more different. Logan is a “stay-at-home-bunny.” Luna is daring and has “new adventures every day.” Luna invites Logan to join in her adventures, but he is too scared. One day, fed up with Logan’s timorousness, Luna stomps off in frustration. Logan feels awful and realizes he must make up with her immediately to save their friendship. There’s only one problem—she’s “OUTSIDE!” Reluctantly, he packs a higgledy-piggledy assemblage of items and heads out the door. The outside world is scary, but thankfully Logan meets some helpful forest friends. As Logan searches for Luna, he discovers whole new worlds and creatures: underwater, among the trees, and deep inside a dark cave. He kind of likes it. When he stops to rest, he hears a cry of distress. Luna is in trouble! Logan must summon all his courage to save her, rising magnificently to the occasion using a surprising secret weapon. Kinnear illustrates Logan’s romp through the autumnal woods and beyond with a touch of whimsy. The rich, vibrant palette—swirling waters in cool shades of blue and glowing woodlands drenched in warm, earthy hues—paired with a lighthearted text makes for a charming story.
A sweet addition to the “you’re braver than you think” shelf. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-56327-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
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
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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