Promising content swaddled by iffy presentation.
With the help of some monkeys, a teddy bear teaches readers all about hugs.
Teddy Bear Tim (the author’s teddy-bear persona) waves to readers and declares, “I LOVE hugs!” His upbeat narration continues as Teddy Bear Tim meets up with a trio of cuddly monkeys who share the love for hugs—and bananas. The four characters list many different kinds of hugs (like “happy hugs,” “slow hugs,” or “monkey hugs”) before Teddy Bear Tim shares the “three simple steps” to giving a hug. They are: ask first, open arms wide, and wrap the other person in a hug (“tight, but not too tight”). Once the instructions are given, Teddy Bear Tim describes some hugging scenarios and acts them out with the monkeys. From running full-bore into each other’s arms to a 5-second “quick hug,” the hugs all point back to Teddy Bear Tim’s key precept: “The LOVE is the most important part.” Motivational speaker and disability advocate Harris’ debut picture book affirms the joy of hugs while highlighting the importance of consent. Astrella’s expressive cartoon characters and energetic hugging sequences show his animation background. But the constant shifts in perspective from below to above in the first few pages are jarring. Simple white backgrounds allow readers to focus mostly on the text, which varies in complexity from one to five sentences per page. Banana endpapers bookend the story.
Promising content swaddled by iffy presentation. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4867-2104-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flowerpot Press
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
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
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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