Graceful pirouettes can be found elsewhere; giggles take the stage here.
Bruce helps the geese get ready to learn ballet in this new early reader installment.
Inspired by a poster of Swan Lake (with a swan as the ballerina), the geese decide they want to dance. Will Bruce help? Bruce, who is comfortably sitting and reading The Art of Sitting and Doing Nothing, does not want to. But the geese give him “sad goose eyes.” Even curmudgeonly Bruce can’t resist those. So he hops on his motorcycle to go to the store to buy ballet shoes. But the ride to and from town is filled with challenges (who dropped nails in the road?). Once Bruce finally gets home, the geese realize they also need “fancy dance pants.” So Bruce goes to the store once again. Poor Bruce rides to town multiple times as the geese think of more and more ballet necessities. Bruce becomes increasingly bedraggled with each trip. Then, in an abrupt turn of events, the geese suddenly have a new idea. Higgins’ rich, textured illustrations are as appealing as ever. The winks and nods toward adults who deal with children’s fickleness every day are a bit lost in an independent reader format, but the ride is still a fun one to take. Silliness and frustration abound. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Graceful pirouettes can be found elsewhere; giggles take the stage here. (Early reader. 4-7)Pub Date: July 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-368-05960-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
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 hilarious autumnal comedy of errors.
A confused squirrel overreacts to the falling autumn leaves.
Relaxing on a tree branch, Squirrel admires the red, gold, and orange leaves. Suddenly Squirrel screams, “One of my leaves is…MISSING!” Searching for the leaf, Squirrel tells Bird, “Someone stole my leaf!” Spying Mouse sailing in a leaf boat, Squirrel asks if Mouse stole the leaf. Mouse calmly replies in the negative. Bird reminds Squirrel it’s “perfectly normal to lose a leaf or two at this time of year.” Next morning Squirrel panics again, shrieking, “MORE LEAVES HAVE BEEN STOLEN!” Noticing Woodpecker arranging colorful leaves, Squirrel queries, “Are those my leaves?” Woodpecker tells Squirrel, “No.” Again, Bird assures Squirrel that no one’s taking the leaves and that the same thing happened last year, then encourages Squirrel to relax. Too wired to relax despite some yoga and a bath, the next day Squirrel cries “DISASTER” at the sight of bare branches. Frantic now, Squirrel becomes suspicious upon discovering Bird decorating with multicolored leaves. Is Bird the culprit? In response, Bird shows Squirrel the real Leaf Thief: the wind. Squirrel’s wildly dramatic, misguided, and hyperpossessive reaction to a routine seasonal event becomes a rib-tickling farce through clever use of varying type sizes and weights emphasizing his absurd verbal pronouncements as well as exaggerated, comic facial expressions and body language. Bold colors, arresting perspectives, and intense close-ups enhance Squirrel’s histrionics. Endnotes explain the science behind the phenomenon.
A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-3520-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
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