A spectacular day in Skeletown.
Down in Skeletown, a pair of tricksters get into mischief and hijinks in this monochromatic-flavored romp.
Time to prepare for a birthday! A round-headed little skeleton, similar to those seen in Dia de los Muertos imagery, lies on the floor with a card splayed open. The word Sí hovers above this scene. A page turn reveals that the young scamp is actually blocking the lane near the card rack. A frowning adult hovers nearby, with the word No atop the page. It’s a story of comical opposites, with text made up of only two words, as two young Skeletown hellions bring harmless, fun trouble to a birthday party. A big present for the birthday recipient certainly seems sweet (“Sí”), but then a jack-in-the-box pops out to cause a fright. “No” indeed. Take a small bite out of a slice of birthday cake (an easy “Sí” for most), but perhaps don’t gulp down the rest of the cake (a “No” if there ever was one). And bash the piñata, but watch out for a nearby beehive! It all culminates in a daredevil bicycle trick as one of the rascals pedals up a ramp to fly over the heads of the other partygoers. “¡No!” With bold, simple, thick-lined, black-and-white images set against a scratchy red background, Montijo’s Skeletown series opener oozes hilarity in an eye-popping package. The sublime, repeated juxtaposition of Sí and No offers wacky, surprising moments of levity, and it all comes together for a charming ending. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A spectacular day in Skeletown. (Picture book. 2-6)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9780316464932
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2023
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
Whether spoken by a dinosaur or a human, this parental message clearly radiates “I’ve loved you from the start.”
The cover’s glowing golden stars are but a small hint of the parent-child love inside.
In this companion book to the creators’ I Love You, My Little Unicorn (2022), a world full of digitally created dinosaurs illustrated in eye-catching colors dominates the pages. From the start, it’s clear that dinosaur parents have the same hopes and dreams for their offspring that human parents do. Readers don’t have to be dinosaur fans to smile when the parent-and-child dinosaur pairs playfully interact and share loving glances. Take special note of the ankylosauruses, whose tails arc to form a heart beneath a sky filled with heart-shaped clouds. The text in verse shares words of unconditional parental love and support and wisdom (“please remember all these things / that I want you to know”), appropriate for humans and dinos alike. “Roar with all your might!” “Spread your wings and fly.” “Use your voice, and ask for help.” There’s even a caveat that some “days will be dark / and other shades of gray.” But “there’s always brightness up ahead.” While the loving sentiments in the storytelling are clear, words are sometimes inverted to make the rhyme work, and the verse doesn’t always follow a consistent meter, but prereading will let the story shine during quiet snuggle times.
Whether spoken by a dinosaur or a human, this parental message clearly radiates “I’ve loved you from the start.” (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781728268361
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
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