While repeated readings won’t offer surprise, squeals of laughter are assured.
The story opens with the trope of a longed-for child and has as many twists as a pig’s tail.
White Mrs. Tati echoes numerous folk-tale characters when she cries, “I wish we had a sweet little baby!” and in the story’s first twist, white Mr. Tati searches for one at a Baby Shop. After learning they sell baby supplies but not babies, he encounters a street pig vendor and impulsively buys one on his way home. Mrs. Tati is delighted. They name him Potter and raise him like a baby, clothing him, feeding him with a bottle, wearing him in a baby-carrier, and letting him sleep in their bed. When he’s ready for school they outfit him with new clothes and supplies, and he’s depicted as bipedal and utterly anthropomorphic. Nevertheless, the headmistress says the school isn’t for pigs, and despite initial disappointment, the Tatis let Potter lead a piggish life of playing in mud, sleeping outside in hay, and eschewing clothing. Potter seems pleased, but Mrs. Tati still wishes he were a child who looked like them, and digital illustrations show a vision of Potter’s Pinocchio-like transformation into a real boy. After he reiterates his wife’s wish to the stars, Mr. Tati effects his own surprising transformation and hers—when they become pigs like their beloved Potter.
While repeated readings won’t offer surprise, squeals of laughter are assured. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-910959-99-2
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Otter-Barry
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
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
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
