Plot holes make this one hard to digest.
Fred absolutely adores almost everything about spaghetti. The only thing he doesn’t like is how long it takes to cook.
Luckily, Fred’s mother is an inventor, and when he asks her to create a machine to cook spaghetti faster, she invents the Spaghetti-Tronic Electro-Spaghetti Zapper, which takes 10 seconds to turn anything into spaghetti. One day, after eating so much spaghetti that he can barely move, Fred forgets to turn off the machine. When he realizes his mistake, he gets sucked into the Zapper and turned into spaghetti himself. The spaghetti seems to give him superpowers, and before long, a crowd is chasing him through the streets, calling him a superhero. At first Fred is frightened, but when disaster strikes, he realizes he can use “pasta power” to save the day. The book’s illustrations are vibrant and colorful, and the clever textual design creates an appropriately comicslike feel. Unfortunately, the plot meanders and is difficult to follow. It is unclear whether or not Fred is actually turned into spaghetti (it just looks like he’s covered in the stuff) or what his superpowers are. Although the ending is humorous and sweet and the mother character is particularly quirky and fun, overall, the disjointed narrative makes the book difficult to follow. Both Fred and his mom have brown skin. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Plot holes make this one hard to digest. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-25687-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Godwin Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 10, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Parent-child love and affection, appealingly presented, with the added attraction of the seasonal content and lack of gender...
A polar-bear parent speaks poetically of love for a child.
A genderless adult and cub travel through the landscapes of an arctic year. Each of the softly rendered double-page paintings has a very different feel and color palette as the pair go through the seasons, walking through wintry ice and snow and green summer meadows, cavorting in the blue ocean, watching whales, and playing beside musk oxen. The rhymes of the four-line stanzas are not forced, as is the case too often in picture books of this type: “When cold, winter winds / blow the leaves far and wide, / You’ll cross the great icebergs / with me by your side.” On a dark, snowy night, the loving parent says: “But for now, cuddle close / while the stars softly shine. // I’ll always be yours, / and you’ll always be mine.” As the last illustration shows the pair curled up for sleep, young listeners will be lulled to sweet dreams by the calm tenor of the pictures and the words. While far from original, this timeless theme is always in demand, and the combination of delightful illustrations and poetry that scans well make this a good choice for early-childhood classrooms, public libraries, and one-on-one home read-alouds.
Parent-child love and affection, appealingly presented, with the added attraction of the seasonal content and lack of gender restrictions. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68010-070-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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