A strong and creative young narrator makes this clever family tale resonate.
A boy searches for a solution that will enable his grandfather and a bee to enjoy mornings without bothering each other in this rhyming picture book.
Every morning, the unnamed narrator wakes so he can watch his grandfather’s daily encounters with a bee who lives on the porch. First, his grandfather has to put in his dentures and say a prayer. The boy observes: “I don’t think, wink, wink that Grandpa can talk to God without his special teeth.” Soon Grandpa and his dog, Sparks, are off to the porch with a hot mug of tea. But as soon as Grandpa sits down, Bizzy Bzzz appears; soon the two are dancing around the porch while the narrator laughs. After Grandpa nearly falls (rescued by the narrator and Sparks), the boy devises a possible solution. Maybe Bizzy Bzzz isn’t after Grandpa but the honey in his tea. Peagler, whose previous books are for an older audience, offers syncopated rhyming phrases within long blocks of prose; the formatting may cause the young audience (or parents reading aloud) to stumble before finding the shifting rhythm. The narrator and his grandfather are clearly a loving pair. Digital pictures from Blueberry Illustrations deftly show the affectionate relationship between the two, who are both brown-skinned. Subtle references to faith ground this book in a spiritual setting without preaching, and the message of finding a solution that allows kindness to all parties is well delivered.
A strong and creative young narrator makes this clever family tale resonate.Pub Date: May 29, 2021
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Script Novel Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 28, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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