A nonsensical title and premise, frenetic illustrations, and butt jokes do not add up to a noteworthy Christmas story.
Santa’s head elf, Wink Silverbells, gathers all the items from “The Twelve Days of Christmas” so Santa can give them to Mrs. Claus as her Christmas gifts.
Wink, a boy elf with light skin and dark hair, serves as the first-person narrator, with his dialogue displayed in blue speech balloons. He finds the list of the unusual Christmas items in Santa’s office, including the words, “My true love gave to me…” and assumes that Santa needs to acquire these things as gifts for Mrs. Claus. The elf asks readers to help, a conceit intended to encourage participation later with whistling, honking like geese, and dancing. The concluding dance party finds Wink urging the readers to “Wiggle that butt!” and “Wilder! Crazier! More butt wiggling!” These comments are illustrated with a view of Wink from the rear holding up his tunic to display his candy-striped tights. Other cheap, above-children’s-heads moments include the comment, “What the elf?” and Wink’s assertion that the word “yes” in French is “wee.” Cartoon-style illustrations are humorous but very busy, including both male and female elves and several characters with brown skin tones; Santa is white. He explains to Wink that he doesn’t need all the items from the song for Mrs. Claus because he already bought her a vacuum. What the elf, Santa? Mrs. Claus deserves better.
A nonsensical title and premise, frenetic illustrations, and butt jokes do not add up to a noteworthy Christmas story. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4136-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
As ephemeral as a valentine.
Daywalt and Jeffers’ wandering crayons explore love.
Each double-page spread offers readers a vision of one of the anthropomorphic crayons on the left along with the statement “Love is [color].” The word love is represented by a small heart in the appropriate color. Opposite, childlike crayon drawings explain how that color represents love. So, readers learn, “love is green. / Because love is helpful.” The accompanying crayon drawing depicts two alligators, one holding a recycling bin and the other tossing a plastic cup into it, offering readers two ways of understanding green. Some statements are thought-provoking: “Love is white. / Because sometimes love is hard to see,” reaches beyond the immediate image of a cat’s yellow eyes, pink nose, and black mouth and whiskers, its white face and body indistinguishable from the paper it’s drawn on, to prompt real questions. “Love is brown. / Because sometimes love stinks,” on the other hand, depicted by a brown bear standing next to a brown, squiggly turd, may provoke giggles but is fundamentally a cheap laugh. Some of the color assignments have a distinctly arbitrary feel: Why is purple associated with the imagination and pink with silliness? Fans of The Day the Crayons Quit (2013) hoping for more clever, metaliterary fun will be disappointed by this rather syrupy read.
As ephemeral as a valentine. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Dec. 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-9268-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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