A sweet tale of friendship between an old and a young pet.
A small dog learns how to behave by watching his big friend in this sweet tale of doggy adoption.
Three pale-skinned human sisters with curly blond hair are sad that their beloved old Labrador, Riley, is lonely. They visit a shelter, hoping to find Riley a furry friend. There, one of the girls instantly connects with a small, black-and-white puppy: “The itty-bitty doggy’s eyes met the little girl’s eyes and BAM!” The family adopts the tiny pit bull (“itty-bitty pitty”) and names him Piper. At first, Piper won’t share toys, eats alone, and strains against his leash on walks. But when Piper notices how much the family loves Riley, he learns from the old dog’s example, and the pets become best friends. Paulson’s story structure sensitively makes it clear that shelter dogs need time to learn new behaviors. The frequent use of the phrase “itty-bitty pitty,” with different adjectives to show how Piper thinks of himself, may encourage young readers to chime in, and extra activities at the end are likely to drive further engagement. The text density is inconsistent, but the eye-catching pictures offset the more crowded pages. Roffler’s watercolor and gouache illustrations ably show Piper’s character development, and the details in the artwork will keep young lap readers engaged even after the words are finished.
A sweet tale of friendship between an old and a young pet.Pub Date: July 10, 2023
ISBN: 9780578294865
Page Count: 46
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
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
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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