A super-sweet tale of living in the moment.
Singer/songwriter and Pentatonix vocalist Scott Hoying and his husband, Mark, a writer and marketing professional, tell the story of a mayfly learning to seize the day.
“Good morning, Mayfly! / It’s your time to meet the sky! / Spread your wings, / ’cause life is not to be wasted!” Words of wisdom from two older mayflies inspire a youngster to explore and appreciate the world. He zips through the air, observes colors and smells, and notices other mayflies. “How lucky am I!” he enthuses at each turn. But as nearby mayflies begin to pair off, our winged hero watches, lonely, wondering if he’ll end up alone. “Why oh why…isn’t luck on my side?” He tries to be philosophical. But before all hope is lost, the perfect partner appears, and mayfly-style romance abounds. Everything comes full circle as the two spot a new youngster and advise that “life is not to be wasted.” Brightly colored, cartoon illustrations nearly overwhelm with extreme cuteness, while exuberant text traces the mayfly’s journey. Well intentioned but a bit saccharine, this tale concludes with backmatter about the species’ all-too-brief (one-day) life cycle and an explanation that the mayflies in the story are same-sex partners (which, the authors note, are common throughout the animal kingdom). A QR code links to a song version of the book, performed by Scott Hoying.
A super-sweet tale of living in the moment. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 21, 2024
ISBN: 9781250853332
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
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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