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THE TROUBLE WITH PENGUINS

Children will need a little guidance from their adult readers to navigate this one.

When a group of penguins meet a human, everything changes. At first, they’re all happy…until they aren’t.

One day, a penguin meets a child—simply referred to as “the person”—roasting marshmallows. After spending a companionable time with the person, the penguin rejoins its group and tells them all about fires and marshmallows. “Naturally, [they all want] to roast marshmallows by the fire, too.” At first, they are “all happy to share one little fire that gave off the most delightful warmth”—until they aren’t. (It seems penguins don’t like to share.) As the birds each start building their own fires, the ice cracks, and they find themselves each on their own piece of ice. At first, that’s nice, until they are lonely. Eventually, they find their way back together again and give communal life another try, “and that was no trouble at all.” It’s quite charming, but ultimately, the message of the story is a little murky. Is it about friendship and the perils of not sharing, perhaps? Or the need to balance individual desires with community needs? Or is there an environmental angle to it, with all the warming from the fires changing their habitat? Sweet, textured penguins drawn against cool-colored washes of wintry blue and purple backgrounds populate this cautionary tale. The child is pale with dark hair. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8.5-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 18% of actual size.)

Children will need a little guidance from their adult readers to navigate this one. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-250-20848-4

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2020

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DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE SLEIGH!

A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.

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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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LITTLE RED SLEIGH

Sadly, the storytelling runs aground.

A little red sleigh has big Christmas dreams.

Although the detailed, full-color art doesn’t anthropomorphize the protagonist (which readers will likely identify as a sled and not a sleigh), a close third-person text affords the object thoughts and feelings while assigning feminine pronouns. “She longed to become Santa’s big red sleigh,” reads an early line establishing the sleigh’s motivation to leave her Christmas-shop home for the North Pole. Other toys discourage her, but she perseveres despite creeping self-doubt. A train and truck help the sleigh along, and when she wishes she were big, fast, and powerful like them, they offer encouragement and counsel patience. When a storm descends after the sleigh strikes out on her own, an unnamed girl playing in the snow brings her to a group of children who all take turns riding the sleigh down a hill. When the girl brings her home, the sleigh is crestfallen she didn’t reach the North Pole. A convoluted happily-ever-after ending shows a note from Santa that thanks the sleigh for giving children joy and invites her to the North Pole next year. “At last she understood what she was meant to do. She would build her life up spreading joy, one child at a time.” Will she leave the girl’s house to be gifted to other children? Will she stay and somehow also reach ever more children? Readers will be left wondering. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 31.8% of actual size.)

Sadly, the storytelling runs aground. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-72822-355-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland

Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020

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