Pedantic and predictable.
An owl and a unicorn commit to helping a bullied jackalope.
This second entry in Anaya’s Owl in a Straw Hat series takes on bullying with a cast of extremely self-aware creatures that includes Ollie the owl, Uno the unicorn, and Jackie the jackalope. One morning, Jackie decides to leave school after being bullied. In response, Nana—Ollie’s grandmother and the teacher at the local animal school—performs an in-your-face finger-wagging lecture for the already-knowledgeable children, shaming them into acting to bring Jackie back from across the Rainbow Bridge. In a weak plot that follows a formulaic and unsurprising three-task arc, Ollie and Uno must deal with the Three Guardians before reaching the land across the Rainbow Bridge (not, here, a metaphor for death) and convincing Jackie to leave the place where there is no “fear, envy, or greed” to return to school, where she was sent by her parents to “learn how others live” so “there will be less prejudice.” Popular Mexican characters such as La Llorona, La Huesuda, and El Kookoóee (El Cucuy) appear as the wise guardians. Evidently not one to cull words, Anaya’s excessive text results in two-column text-only spreads that will inspire readers to skip the page. El Moisés’ illustrations feature many New Mexican, Mexican, and American cultural elements yet they lack dynamism.
Pedantic and predictable. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-89013-642-3
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Museum of New Mexico
Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends.
Is it a stormy-night scare or a bedtime book? Both!
Little Blue Truck and his good friend Toad are heading home when a storm lets loose. Before long, their familiar, now very nervous barnyard friends (Goat, Hen, Goose, Cow, Duck, and Pig) squeeze into the garage. Blue explains that “clouds bump and tumble in the sky, / but here inside we’re warm and dry, / and all the thirsty plants below / will get a drink to help them grow!” The friends begin to relax. “Duck said, loud as he could quack it, / ‘THUNDER’S JUST A NOISY RACKET!’ ” In the quiet after the storm, the barnyard friends are sleepy, but the garage is not their home. “ ‘Beep!’ said Blue. ‘Just hop inside. / All aboard for the bedtime ride!’ ” Young readers will settle down for their own bedtimes as Blue and Toad drop each friend at home and bid them a good night before returning to the garage and their own beds. “Blue gave one small sleepy ‘Beep.’ / Then Little Blue Truck fell fast asleep.” Joseph’s rich nighttime-blue illustrations (done “in the style of [series co-creator] Jill McElmurry”) highlight the power of the storm and capture the still serenity that follows. Little Blue Truck has been chugging along since 2008, but there seems to be plenty of gas left in the tank.
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-85213-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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