Shines a triumphant spotlight on Day of the Dead festivities.
A brown-skinned Latine family prepares for and then celebrates the Day of the Dead.
Mar, Paz, and their parents have much to do to get ready to welcome family for the big celebration: getting marigolds and sugar skulls at the market, making almond cookies, and writing poems. There are special revelations about ways in which the children are like their grandfather and great-grandmother as well as singing and dancing. At the heart of it all, Abuelita is greeted joyfully and shares family stories. The illustrations are appropriately brightly colored and show off many of the elements of the Day of the Dead. The special marigolds, skulls, and symbolic monarch butterflies thread across pages, tying the celebration and the living and the dead together. Aranda explains why the holiday matters as well as the importance of learning about and preserving ancestral memories. Her text contains just enough information to be beneficial to young readers without overwhelming them. The nuances of the connections between ancestors and current generations, and between lost loved ones and living ones, are expertly captured. Above all, the story centers on the joys of family and tradition. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Shines a triumphant spotlight on Day of the Dead festivities. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-525-51428-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
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BOOK REVIEW
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