A tale about doing nice things for others that goes down easily.
What goes around comes around for one witch who loves to make trouble—i.e., make people miserable.
Brunhilda, a pale-skinned, warty witch, has a routine: get out of bed on the wrong side, put on her ugliest dress, eat spider mush, and brush her three snaggled teeth with candy. Then it’s off to use her favorite spell to rain on picnics, cause pimples to appear, or wilt a bouquet of flowers. That is, until the cat decides to make trouble of its own in revenge for some of the nasty tricks and treatment it’s been the brunt of. The next morning goes decidedly differently for Brunhilda, and her favorite spell has the exact opposite effect as the one she was going for: instead of falling, a white boy’s ice cream cone quadruples, and a racially diverse trio of children fly on their bikes rather than crash. Finally succeeding in making a playground disappear, she realizes it’s not as satisfying as the high-five and cheering she got for doing nice things, albeit unintentionally. She and the cat cook up some fun that night, and though things appear to be back to normal for Brunhilda, some changes are permanent. Tenney’s vignette, single-page, and double-page illustrations play up the emotions of the characters. Especially masterful is the spread of the cat in its mad-scientist, green-glowing glory.
A tale about doing nice things for others that goes down easily. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-63450-691-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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