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AFTER THE RAIN

Name: AFTER THE RAIN
Author: Rebecca Koehn
ISBN: 978-1-5064-5451-1

by Rebecca Koehn ; illustrated by Simone Krüger ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 3, 2020

Pull this out on the next rainy day and have boots, slickers, and boat at the ready.

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A young boy who longs to play with his toy boat is thrilled when the rain stops and the gutters and downspouts gush.

Levi watches from his nautically decorated bedroom as the last drops of rain fall, quickly donning his yellow raincoat, boots, and hat and grabbing his boat when he spies the water overflowing the gutters. Krüger mixes wide-angle views with vignettes and close-up, ground-level perspectives to get readers right into the action with Levi as he stomps through puddles. The river of water from the downspout to the drain in the sidewalk provides endless fun for the boy and his toy boat…until Polly arrives and claims the stream as her own. The angry visage on the tot, who wears a raindrop-decorated poncho and red boots, sets the stage for a battle that involves splashes and tossed mud, expressions speaking volumes. But when both kids realize the water is drying up, they call a truce and set about creating a mud, rock, leaf, and stick dam. The subsequent lake is a great place to play: “Battle begun but not won. // Building together is much more fun.” The imagination on display will inspire readers, though the battle’s end is more serendipitous than strategic and won’t teach kids much in the way of problem-solving. Levi is dark skinned, Polly light.

Pull this out on the next rainy day and have boots, slickers, and boat at the ready. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: March 3, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-5064-5451-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Beaming Books

Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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LOVE FROM THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR

by Eric Carle ; illustrated by Eric Carle ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 15, 2015

Safe to creep on by.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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edited by Eric Carle

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edited by Eric Carle

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by Eric Carle ; illustrated by Eric Carle

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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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)