Enjoyable holiday fare for the littlest trick-or-treaters.
Does the box of Halloween costumes contain enough to clothe a passel of bears?
There’s a lot inside that carton: “hats, capes, and bats,” for example, and much more besides. And here come the four excited little bears, eager to comb through the contents to find the right trick-or-treat get-ups. At first, they find just what they want. Then, they simultaneously shout and pull at one another’s pickings as well, each desperately needing what another one has. The hubbub causes poor little Floppy to fall on her rear, so she tells Big Brown Bear she’ll wait until the others are done. Unfortunately, by the time everyone else has grabbed their stash, there’s nothing left in the box but a crumpled-up sash. Contrite, all the other bears willingly share their largesse with Floppy, turning her into the “holiday queen.” She leads the parade outdoors, all the bears dressed in their Halloween finest. This latest in Parenteau and Walker’s Bears on Chairs series is a sweet, brief rhyming tale for very young children that emphasizes kindness and sharing—a fine message for Halloween or any time. The lilting verses move smoothly and rhythmically and express a familiar scenario. The colorful, expressive illustrations are endearing; minimal text and lots of white space per page focus attention on the characters and goings-on.
Enjoyable holiday fare for the littlest trick-or-treaters. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: July 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0837-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
Let these crayons go back into their box.
The Crayons return to celebrate Easter.
Six crayons (Red, Orange, Yellow, Esteban, who is green and wears a yellow cape, White, and Blue) each take a shape and scribble designs on it. Purple, perplexed and almost angry, keeps asking why no one is creating an egg, but the six friends have a great idea. They take the circle decorated with red shapes, the square adorned with orange squiggles “the color of the sun,” the triangle with yellow designs, also “the color of the sun” (a bit repetitious), a rectangle with green wavy lines, a white star, about which Purple remarks: “DID you even color it?” and a rhombus covered with blue markings and slap the shapes onto a big, light-brown egg. Then the conversation turns to hiding the large object in plain sight. The joke doesn’t really work, the shapes are not clear enough for a concept book, and though colors are delineated, it’s not a very original color book. There’s a bit of clever repartee. When Purple observe that Esteban’s green rectangle isn’t an egg, Esteban responds, “No, but MY GOSH LOOK how magnificent it is!” Still, that won’t save this lackluster book, which barely scratches the surface of Easter, whether secular or religious. The multimedia illustrations, done in the same style as the other series entries, are always fun, but perhaps it’s time to retire these anthropomorphic coloring implements. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Let these crayons go back into their box. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-62105-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
A funny tale about stress and an ever upping ante, with a comforting end.
Something is preventing Owl from falling asleep.
Owl leans back against his white pillow and headboard. “Squeek!” says something underneath the bed. Owl’s never heard that sound before, so he fastens his pink bathrobe and answers the front door. Nobody. It must be the wind; back to bed. Bidding himself goodnight, he climbs into bed—and hears the noise again. Time after time, he pops out of bed seeking the squeaker. Is it in the cupboard? He empties the shelves. Under the floor? He pulls up his floorboards. As Owl’s actions ratchet up—he destroys the roof and smashes the walls, all in search of the squeak—so does his anxiety. Not until he hunkers down in bed under the night sky (his bed is now outdoors, because the house’s roof and walls are gone), frantically clutching his pillow, does he see what readers have seen all along: a small, gray mouse. In simple illustrations with black outlines, textured coloring, and foreshortened perspective, Pizzoli plays mischievously with mouse placement. Sometimes the mouse is behind Owl or just out of his sightline; other times, the mouse is on a solid, orange-colored page across the spread from Owl, which removes him from Owl’s scene in a rather postmodern manner. Is the mouse toying with Owl? Who knows?
A funny tale about stress and an ever upping ante, with a comforting end. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4847-1275-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
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