A dreamy folkloric adventure with astronomical appeal that’s tailor-made for bedtime reading.
A South Korean import, translated by Ly, reimagines childhood insomnia.
An ungendered, light-skinned youngster dressed in a white rabbit sleeper is having trouble falling asleep. So, they entreat the moon to “come and play”; thus begins a magical, moonlight adventure in the velvety blue night sky. The moon rabbit (a South Korean mythical figure) holds a Huck Finn–style fishing rod, lets down the line baited with a radiant star, and, with a great yank, lifts the child up to the crescent moon. “Are we the only ones awake?” they wonder, and this question becomes a refrain as they cast the fishing line repeatedly, reeling in animals who are also wide awake in their habitats—a woodland fox, an undersea crab, and two polar bears. Perched on the moon, tot and animals, each with their own fishing rods now, soak their baits and share the reasons why they can’t get any shut-eye. Suddenly, their lines go taut as a vibrant cluster of golden stars strike, pulling everyone out into the sky for a playful sidereal romp. To capture the memories of the night, each character creates a namesake constellation before rabbit magics them home, fast sleep. Kim’s luminous illustrations do the heavy lifting in this enchanting fantasia narrated using simple, spare prose. Adults can use the story to introduce young children to the Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, Vulpecula, and Cancer constellations. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A dreamy folkloric adventure with astronomical appeal that’s tailor-made for bedtime reading. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 22, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4197-5100-4
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022
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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