Charming, quirky, and sweet—this one contains the magical ingredients for an absorbing read.
The apprentice-magician puppies confront an exciting new challenge.
Now that Hocus and Pocus have adjusted to their forever home, their ruby-haired, brown-skinned witch caregiver, Jinx, decides to help them get to know their new neighborhood. They plan a “potion drop”—a sort of reverse trick-or-treating activity. They go door to door giving out helpful mixtures and in return receive pickles, pies, socks, and firewood; their fellow witches even give them some spells. Extroverted Hocus is having a great time, but shy Pocus feels overwhelmed. When they learn that the wizard next door is having trouble with his new pet—a dragon named Bye-Bye who keeps setting things on fire—Pocus is naturally terrified, so the pups try to make “a not-scary spell,” with an incantation involving some decidedly un-scary words, like zoomies and lap naps. Pocus feels braver, but when the pups attempt to visit Bye-Bye, they find the dragon cowering in a cave. Bye-Bye’s also anxious—and unfortunately doesn’t speak dog. Hijinks, including shape-shifting, ensue as Hocus tries out another potion in an attempt to communicate with Bye-Bye. Just as engaging as its predecessor, this tale artfully blends magic and whimsy. Pocus’ trajectory from fearful to more confident—though still a bit uncertain—is both relatable and realistic. Clear, bright illustrations complement the text well; Hocus’ gift for prediction should prophecy success for the series.
Charming, quirky, and sweet—this one contains the magical ingredients for an absorbing read. (Chapter book. 5-8)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781536224931
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader!
Fun with friends makes for a great day.
Norbit, a salmon-colored worm with a pink kerchief, joyfully greets the day and everyone he encounters. “Hello, friends! It’s time for fun with the sun! Let’s play!” He and his menagerie of forest pals—including the sun, who grows limbs and descends from the sky—exuberantly engage in various forms of physical activity such as jumping, going down a slide, spinning around, and watching the clouds go by. Young readers will readily relate, as these are games that most children are familiar with. As day turns to night, Norbit says farewell to Sun and welcomes Moon with an invitation to continue the fun. Watkins has created a vivid world of movement and merriment. Her illustrations feature bright bursts of color that match the energy of the text, with most sentences ending in an exclamation point. The author/illustrator incorporates many elements that make for an ideal early-reading experience (despite the use of a contraction or two): art free from clutter, text consisting of words with only one or two syllables, and repetition and recurring bits, such as a continued game of hide-and-seek with Sun. Inspired by never-before-seen sketches from the Dr. Seuss Collection archives at the University of California San Diego, this is the first title for Seuss Studios, a new imprint for original stories from “emerging authors and illustrators” who “honor Seuss’s hallmark spirit of creativity and imagination.”
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader! (author's note) (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780593646212
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Seuss Studios
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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