Seek no more for words to describe this winner: a standout!
A seek-and-find story with twists to spare.
Let’s get this out of the way up front: Gordon, the purported star of this most unusual adventure, makes it plain early on that this being-found stuff isn’t for him, thanks very much, though at first, he’s pretty good at it. It’s not that Gordon, a purple tapir with a white stripe across his abdomen, wishes to hide. His seemingly uncooperative attitude, explained in a funny exchange with the book’s chatty, unseen narrator, actually stems from his desire to “stand out.” The narrator agrees to select another candidate (and to “change the title of the book”). Mind you, there’s quite a crowded cast of colorful characters to choose from on the minutely detailed spreads. So next up is a blue construction-worker rhino in a hard hat who shyly eludes the “honor” and eventually does a literal runner—but not before she proudly announces her name: Jane. Gordon, enjoying himself among his many pals in various settings, is eventually enlisted to help find her and comes up with a superb, emotionally empowering idea—one that turns out to be both a truly splendid seek-and-find exercise for readers and a satisfyingly lovely conclusion. Riotously written and wittily illustrated with plenty of details for kids to savor, this charmer will keep readers laughing and looking. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Seek no more for words to describe this winner: a standout! (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-7736-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 10, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
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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