Etiquette that falls short.
A dinosaur longs for a friend with good manners.
Nigel, a prim turquoise theropod with a dapper bow tie, is very strict about etiquette. He’s read all of the best primers on the subject (including Elbows Off the Table and Other Rules of Carnivorous Courtesy), but he just can’t seem to find a tea-party guest who will meet his high standards. Alas, a dragon sneezed directly onto the table (and set it on fire), and a llama thought the teacups were toys and balanced them on his head. But finally, a unicorn is coming to tea. Nigel is convinced that the “unicorn’s manners will be sublime.” Periwinkle, a bright yellow unicorn with a magenta mane, swoops to the table. Unfortunately, she shines her horn with the napkin and dunks a cookie directly in the teapot! Poor Nigel is the picture of dejection. But Periwinkle explains that she learned from her great-grandmother that it is polite to eat dessert first and to spear cookies with forks. It appears the message Halpern is reaching for is that table manners are arbitrary and differ from culture to culture (or, in this case, species to species). But instead of choosing an inclusive conclusion, the text lands hard on “Maybe bad manners aren’t so bad after all,” accompanied by a picture of Nigel, Periwinkle, and his erstwhile guests displaying comically bad manners. Manners-abiding hopefuls may cringe.
Etiquette that falls short. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5037-5711-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sunbird Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
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
BOOK REVIEW
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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