A warm, cozy counterpoint to Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman’s Bear Snores On (2002) but without the “Again! Again!”...
While all bears grow heavy-eyed in the winter, some little cubs—like some little humans—are too anxious to sleep.
Elliott can’t quite catch a wink when his mother bear tells him it’s time to nap until spring. He misses the season too much—and he’s impatient for it to come. He tries again and again to lull himself to sleep (changing his position, fluffing the bark strips, plumping up his pine-needle pillow), but nothing works. He is “Still. Wide. Awake”—a pleasing refrain. When he starts seeing scary shadows, Elliott turns to his mother for comfort. She instructs him to look closer to see the signs of spring. Sure enough, Elliott sees a “brave bud” growing in the snow, and he decides that if spring is asleep, he may as well sleep too. The refrain, poetic imagery, and well-paced sentences make this a smooth read-aloud. Yet it’s a bit too text-heavy—explaining too much at times when the art could do the heavy lifting. Kim’s soft, digitally colored graphite pencil illustrations evoke the comfort of the winter cave. The endpapers, featuring slice-of-life depictions of fall and spring, are a fitting frame.
A warm, cozy counterpoint to Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman’s Bear Snores On (2002) but without the “Again! Again!” readability. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-235603-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2017
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree.
A Christmas edition of the beloved alphabet book.
The story starts off nearly identically to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989), written by John Archambault and the late Bill Martin Jr, with the letters A, B, and C deciding to meet in the branches of a tree. This time, they’re attempting to scale a Christmas tree, not a coconut tree, and the letters are strung together like garland. A, B, and C are joined by the other letters, and of course they all “slip, slop, topple, plop!” right down the tree. At the bottom, they discover an assortment of gifts, all in a variety of shapes. As a team, the letters and presents organize themselves to get back up on the Christmas tree and get a star to the top. Holiday iterations of favorite tales often fall flat, but this take succeeds. The gifts are an easy way to reinforce another preschool concept—shapes—and the text uses just enough of the original to be familiar. The rhyming works, sticking to the cadence of the source material. The illustrations pay homage to the late Lois Ehlert’s, featuring the same bold block letters, though they lack some of the whimsy and personality of the original. Otherwise, everything is similarly brightly colored and simply drawn. Those familiar with the classic will be drawn to this one, but newcomers can enjoy it on its own.
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665954761
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
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
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