Playfully and skillfully balancing two languages, this cat tale proves cute and clever.
A fashionable feline with nine siblings teaches Spanish words and counting as part of a trip to town.
The titular cat, who walks on two legs and wears a top hat, a scarf, boots, and a vest, is followed around by a varied group of sibling cats who walk on all fours, each of whom playfully pretends to be Gato Guapo. Each time, he counts the cats (“Uno, dos, tres…”), looking for the missing cat, who then appears, shouting, “¡Yo soy Gato Guapo!” and wearing one of Guapo’s items of clothing or accessories. Along the way, the book mixes in unitalicized Spanish words or phrases within the English text, unobtrusively working in enough context that most may be easily understood by young non-Spanish readers. (A word list at the end translates all the Spanish in the book.) Unlike in similar books, this story doesn’t clumsily blend languages or rely on the oft-used technique of parrot-repeating a Spanish word with its English equivalent. Instead, the phrasing flows well. However, what works so nicely in the first few pages is abandoned for the cat reveals. It would have been nice to have seen more of the well-combined bilingual flow. Still, Gato Guapo’s got a lot of style, and so does the book—the anthropomorphized animals cut winsome poses and will readily endear themselves to readers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Playfully and skillfully balancing two languages, this cat tale proves cute and clever. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-306266-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 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
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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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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