Short and sweet, full of adventure and heartwarming moments.
A shrew moves into his own burrow and makes unlikely friends along the way in Agauas’ children’s chapter book.
Evert the shrew is one of seven siblings. He has grown tired of his crowded household and decides to go out to find a place he can call his own. Evert believes he has found just that underneath the roots of an old maple tree; however, he is in for a surprise when he learns that the nice garden just outside his new home is actually populated by humans (which Evert and his mother call “giants”) who react to his presence with less screaming and stomping than he expected. One giant even seems to think he’s cute, despite the stories his mother has told him of how mean they can be. Evert still tries to avoid them (just in case) and instead almost runs into a cat that lives in the house on the hill with the giants. Determined to keep a low profile, when Evert meets a frog named Goodwin, he is reluctant to befriend such a loud and friendly animal. Evert tries to live by his mother’s survival-oriented rules like “Keep to yourself” and “Mind your own business,” but he finds himself repeatedly roped into adventures with his neighbors, whether they’re taking him to get furniture or conscripting him for a rescue mission. Over the course of the story, Evert learns that maybe not all of his mother’s rules need to be followed—especially when he begins to reconsider whether he wants to be alone all the time or just sometimes. This children’s chapter book conveys a poignant message about the importance of friendship and community. Interspersed between the chapters are stunning watercolor illustrations that add to the lighthearted, whimsical tone of this tale. Evert is a stubborn yet endearing character whom readers will root for as he discovers the importance of forging bonds with others in his new home. (Even the humans surprise Evert with their kindness and show that his extreme caution can hinder more than help when he’s out on his own.) This is an engaging journey of self-discovery that is sure to keep a young reader’s attention.
Short and sweet, full of adventure and heartwarming moments.Pub Date: June 24, 2024
ISBN: 9781732271142
Page Count: 148
Publisher: Why Not Now? Children's Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 3, 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
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