A creative, involving introduction to the power of community care.
Johnny Heart the lion falls on hard times after a brief time as a rock star—and discovers something else that beats the limelight.
Fat Cat (a skinny cheetah) sells talented lion singer Johnny on a life of fame and fortune, but “as his shows got bigger, everyone seemed so much further away.” He tours an animal-filled world (though the Statue of Liberty is still human) and sings in the spotlight each night, but Johnny is overworked and underappreciated. His voice gives out, and Fat Cat unceremoniously drops him from the label. Busky Soul the Bear, carrying a handkerchief knapsack, welcomes Johnny to a circle of animal friends who have hurt their paws or been bullied by wolves (a missed opportunity to present wolves in a positive light). A smiling Mary Monkey, a volunteer, offers food. Johnny brightens. He realizes he can make others happy in different ways. He becomes a volunteer as well, presumably because volunteers have helped house, feed, and cheer him. His voice returns, and Fat Cat wants to make money from his singing again, but instead Johnny gives benefit concerts at a treehouse shelter. Webster’s text provides a happy-ending fable of homelessness and mutual aid for young children and shows that even talented, valuable people may experience housing insecurity. García’s digital illustrations in orange and blue tones are economical, warm, and dynamic, with rounded shapes and shadowed silhouettes providing a visual pop.
A creative, involving introduction to the power of community care.Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781953458636
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Yeehoo Press
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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