There’s a lot to be said for taking a few moments to look around.
So giddy with pent-up energy is newly awake little Bear that she can’t stop running to take in the joys of spring.
Like a world-class sugar rush, Bear’s need for speed sends her bursting out of the den with such exuberance that she stops only to scoop up a tortoise she trips over—and proceeds to ignore his suggestions to smell the flowers or play with a pair of fox cubs, his objection to climbing a tree, and, when it comes to jumping into the river, the fact that he can’t swim. Wet and tired, Tortoise at last puts his foot down and counters Bear’s protest that there’s so much left to do with the observation that it’s bedtime. The response is predictable: “NOOOOOOOOOO!” Pedler propels her tubby cub, Tortoise clinging gamely on, through sunny woods and meadows alight with fresh greens, bright flowers, and capering wildlife. She then, following Tortoise’s reassurance that tomorrow will bring new opportunities to run, make friends, and maybe sit for a time, sends the pair back at a more sedate pace suitable for appreciating nature’s beauties. Younger audiences with a yen to put pedal to the metal will get the point here, even if they shrug it off.
There’s a lot to be said for taking a few moments to look around. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68010-188-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 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
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
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