This offbeat pictorial adventure won't be to all tastes, but it should prompt storytelling fun for both adults and children.
A scene of pastoral calm and beauty spins out into chaos.
The story is told entirely in pictures, 12 busy two-page spreads. Many things are happening on a wide stretch of bright green grass, with the edge of a forest in the background. A mother squirrel and her young son walk down a grassless path, two rats sunbathe side by side, a mother rabbit lays out a picnic for a variety of small animals. (All the animal characters wear clothing and walk on two feet.) In the background are four small houses. The third shows a mishap, with a dog in a striped shirt outside working hard at making a cake. His efforts are continually disrupted, first by an errant soccer ball and then by another dog, clad in dress and apron, chasing a fly. As the pages turn, the activity continues and accelerates. The pigs who live in the second house do some painting on a ladder; three monkeys perch on the roof of the first house; a fox and rabbit dig a deep hole near the path. Activity turns to bedlam, with a raccoon tracking paint into the fourth house and the ladder toppling over and almost everyone rushing into the woods. What exactly is happening? Much is left for the reader's imagination to fill in.
This offbeat pictorial adventure won't be to all tastes, but it should prompt storytelling fun for both adults and children. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-8775-7910-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Gecko Press
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
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
These reindeer games are a bit tired but, given the series’ popularity, should have a large, ready-made audience.
The How to Catch A… crew try for Comet.
Having already failed to nab a Halloween witch, the Easter Bunny, a turkey, a leprechaun, the Tooth Fairy, and over a dozen other iconic trophies in previous episodes of this bestselling series, one would think the racially diverse gaggle of children in Elkerton’s moonlit, wintry scenes would be flagging…but no, here they lay out snares ranging from a loop of garland to an igloo baited with reindeer moss to an enticing candy cane maze, all in hopes of snagging one of Santa’s reindeer while he’s busy delivering presents. Infused with pop culture–based Christmas cheer (“Now I’ve already seen the shelf with the elf”), Comet prances past the traps until it’s time to gather up the kids, most of whom look terrified, for a group snapshot with the other reindeer and then climb back into harness: “This was a great stop but a few million to go / Christmas Eve must continue with style!” Though festive, the verse feels trite and unlikely to entice youngsters. A sprinkling of “True Facts About Reindeer” (“They live in the tundra, where they have friends like the arctic bunny”) wrap up this celebration of the predatory spirit. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
These reindeer games are a bit tired but, given the series’ popularity, should have a large, ready-made audience. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
ISBN: 9781728276137
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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