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KNOCKS IN THE NIGHT

Name: KNOCKS IN THE NIGHT
Author: Tilde Michels
ISBN: 978-1-76036-011-5

by Tilde Michels ; illustrated by Reinhard Michl ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 2016

Quiet and nifty.

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A sudden snowstorm leaves forest animals out in the cold.

Peter’s small house sits “all draped in white.” He’s snug in bed in his white nightshirt when he hears a knock at the door. “Please let me in,” a voice cries. “I’m f-f-freezing!” Peter, a large white man with red hair and mustache, finds a hare out in the snow and invites him in. After getting dressed, Peter fills the stove with wood and gets a nice fire going. Both are nodding off when there’s another knock at the door. It’s the fox, frozen from top to toe. The hare pleads with Peter to ignore the fox. “Foxes have a nasty habit / Of eating things that look like rabbit.” Fox promises to be good, and Peter lets him in. One more creature disturbs their slumber, a big brown bear. Peter plays peacemaker, and all settle down to sleep as the storm rages outside. Next morning, all is clear, and the animals venture back into the forest, one by one, before Peter awakens. Tracks in the snow tell him this wasn’t a dream. Michels’ verse feels easy; Michl depicts animals with care, and Peter looks like a Maurice Sendak child all grown up. The story is a bit thin, but the book captures a wintry mood and is handsomely designed; each double-page spread has a beautiful, white-bordered illustration on one side and ample white space for a small vignette and a stanza or two on the other.

Quiet and nifty. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-76036-011-5

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Starfish Bay

Review Posted Online: July 25, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY!
by Tilde Michels & illustrated by Thomas Müller

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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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)