Jolly animals and an intriguing page design are welcome attributes, but the lackluster text and absence of a clear...
Forest animals join forces to build a house where they can live together in harmony in this rhyming story with a retro vibe.
A cheerful mouse kicks off the building project with welcoming, outstretched arms on the title page. The mouse consoles a homeless frog, and they begin gathering sticks to build their new home. They are joined by other animals who need shelter, including rabbits, a bear, a fox, and birds. The animals use tools and boards to build their group home, which is never shown fully in the illustrations, and their construction efforts are rather confusing, as what they are actually building is hard to discern. The singsong rhyming text is earnest and peppy, proclaiming that in this new home, “life will be so sweet.” Soft-focus illustrations with a muted palette feature appealing animals with large eyes and expressive faces, and there are some amusing scenes as the group works together. The creative design includes pages of varying widths and die-cut windows on the cover and concluding spread. One illustration with a rainy setting has the text block set against dark, gray clouds, rendering the words almost unreadable.
Jolly animals and an intriguing page design are welcome attributes, but the lackluster text and absence of a clear conclusion to the building project make this a less than sturdy effort overall. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5247-7165-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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