A beautiful but minor effort from two immensely talented creators.
A parent-child pair observes the coming of night and the reactions of various (mostly domesticated) animals and their offspring.
MacLachlan uses a simple four-line rhyme scheme and intensifies the lulling quality of her text by starting the first six stanzas with the title sentence: “The moon’s almost here.” The lines that follow describe the animals settling down and/or heading home in their pastoral setting. As the moon begins to rise, the pattern of the rhyme stays the same (abcb), but the first line varies and the tone increases in intimacy. From “out in the meadow,” where "the fireflies blink bright," to “my bed,” where a little kitten curls up cozily, then back into the night to greet the moon, the voice becomes the child’s. DePaola’s acrylic paintings in his signature style depict the parent figure as a white-faced, pantomime Pierrot, accompanied by a ginger-haired, preschool-sized white child of indeterminate gender. Subtle shadings of color capture the magical changes brought on by the setting of the sun and the rising of the moon. Stylized shapes turn leaves and flowers into appealing patterns, while the white clothing of parent and child seems to glow against the darkening background. While the illustrations are undeniably lovely and the words flow smoothly and soothingly, however, overall this seems slight and somewhat predictable.
A beautiful but minor effort from two immensely talented creators. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 7, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-2062-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
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 reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends.
Is it a stormy-night scare or a bedtime book? Both!
Little Blue Truck and his good friend Toad are heading home when a storm lets loose. Before long, their familiar, now very nervous barnyard friends (Goat, Hen, Goose, Cow, Duck, and Pig) squeeze into the garage. Blue explains that “clouds bump and tumble in the sky, / but here inside we’re warm and dry, / and all the thirsty plants below / will get a drink to help them grow!” The friends begin to relax. “Duck said, loud as he could quack it, / ‘THUNDER’S JUST A NOISY RACKET!’ ” In the quiet after the storm, the barnyard friends are sleepy, but the garage is not their home. “ ‘Beep!’ said Blue. ‘Just hop inside. / All aboard for the bedtime ride!’ ” Young readers will settle down for their own bedtimes as Blue and Toad drop each friend at home and bid them a good night before returning to the garage and their own beds. “Blue gave one small sleepy ‘Beep.’ / Then Little Blue Truck fell fast asleep.” Joseph’s rich nighttime-blue illustrations (done “in the style of [series co-creator] Jill McElmurry”) highlight the power of the storm and capture the still serenity that follows. Little Blue Truck has been chugging along since 2008, but there seems to be plenty of gas left in the tank.
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-85213-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
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