Congratulatory cheerleading and wise whimsy to celebrate accomplishments of all sorts.
Go ahead. Judge this book by the cover.
On a softly psychedelic background, a cartoon-style tiger greets readers with a wonderfully cheesy smile that is every orthodontist’s dream. A sticker reads: “The PERFECT gift for every milestone!” In text uniformly presented in the second person, each spread inside gives readers a boost. “Because you’re / FIERCE. / A rising star! / You’ve earned your stripes. / You’ve come so far! / No matter who you choose / to be, you’ll be / TERR-IFIC. / Wait and see!” (Even though the text is in verse, it’s not always laid out accordingly.) Readers are encouraged to “find your place” and to “do your part” but also to “be humble,” to “land on your paws” in times of trouble, to help new friends, and to “use your strength to shine a light / on what is wrong and what is RIGHT.” A white tiger with multicolored stripes encourages further growth: “To your spirit you’ll stay true, never sorry to be you. / But CHANGE YOUR STRIPES / if they don’t suit you. / Dare to swap them—we’ll salute you.” Most spreads contain a complete four-line rhythmic and rhyming stanza in second person. A variety of other animals join the tiger in its shining moment. The book’s open commercial appeal doesn’t mask its effectiveness.
Congratulatory cheerleading and wise whimsy to celebrate accomplishments of all sorts. (Picture book. 4-8, all ages)Pub Date: March 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3964-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
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
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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