For those who enjoy seeing their beasts appear and disappear (and appear)
Sometimes knitting can be monstrously adventuresome.
White goat Greta loves to knit. One day, she decides to move beyond her usual repertoire of socks and fashions one small knitted goat and then several more to keep each other company. Unfortunately, “mean Mrs. Sheep” enters and criticizes Greta’s craftsmanship. Angry, Greta stops paying attention to her knits and purls, her work grows to great lengths, and what should appear but a wolf who scares off the goats. He then “gobbles up Mrs. Sheep, wool and all,” and frightens Greta into a closet. Greta quickly crafts a ferocious-looking tiger who gobbles up the wolf. Not satisfied, the tiger wants some goat, too. Greta responds to this threat by creating a very big “MONSTER” who swallows up the tiger. But Greta is a smart knitter. She does not bind off her last stitch and proceeds to unravel her last creation, “riffle raffle riffle raffle whoosh.” All ends well for the gobbled-up animals, and Greta resumes her knitting—but does not pay careful attention to the green yarn on her needles. (Think toothy and crawly.) The story, told in the present tense, is well-paced and laced with onomatopoeia, and van Haeringen’s India ink, watercolor, and colored pencil illustrations are lively and amusing, especially when set against a white background. Greta keeps a smiling face even when dwarfed by her fearsome menagerie.
For those who enjoy seeing their beasts appear and disappear (and appear) . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-328-84210-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
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