An eventful and well-illustrated historical fantasy for young readers.
A fanciful children’s tale about felines inhabiting the famed Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.
In 1729, Catherine the Great hears mice in the basement of her beloved Hermitage Museum, which holds a vast art collection. The next day, she finds three “interesting-looking cats” outside. She lures them into the museum’s basement, where they chase away the rodents. Eventually, the building’s cat population grows to 74, all enjoying “royal food, plenty of fresh water, a good brushing once a week, and…a health check” by a veterinarian each month. Yearly, Catherine would make sure the hardworking cats received a “grand feast,” including caviar, fish, milk, and Camembert cheese. Afterward, the cats sneak into the gallery (where they’re not allowed to go) for their own personal celebration. Later, the other cats watch as felines Anastasia and Bertrand perform an “intricate pas de deux” while dressed in finery. Other cats dance the troika and the kazachok, described as “the Russian Squat-and-Kick Dance.” The following morning, the museum’s cleaning lady finds a “tiny costume” and puzzles over its origins. Falleti directly speaks to her young readers with her narration, which makes the story interactive: “But we know the secret, don’t we? Let’s not tell.” An informative final sidebar shares facts about the “Day of the Hermitage Cats” celebration, which began in 2005. Fomina’s full-color, painterly illustrations will delight young readers with their sometimes-anthropomorphic cats that are by turns full of whimsy, cleverness, and elegance. The images all support the events of Falleti’s text beautifully. Overall, the book is sure to delight youngsters and inspire them to learn more about the Hermitage cats.
An eventful and well-illustrated historical fantasy for young readers.Pub Date: June 1, 2024
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Nov. 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
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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