A “merry,” pleasant, and uplifting seasonal offering.
A bird’s extraordinary holiday escapade, inspired by the real-life owl discovered in the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in 2020.
Merry, a northern saw-whet owl, has a favorite tree in the conifer forest: Hark, a Norway spruce. Merry stays warm in a hole in Hark’s trunk and listens to the tree’s stories. Merry also loves listening to Sebastian, a great gray owl, tell thrilling owl myths and longs to experience grand adventures, too. But when Hark is felled, lifted "onto a large, red shiny beast," and taken to a "new world" of "giant structures," Merry's whole world is uprooted. Alone in the big city, Merry has trouble hunting, but a kind brown-skinned woman takes Merry home and expertly cares for the owl; from the window, Merry watches Hark become more beautiful as her branches are decorated with colored lights. When Merry’s health is restored, the woman releases the owl back to the forest, and Merry realizes, “I had a grand adventure.” This gentle tale, narrated by Merry in first “person,” is a quiet, contemplative take on the usual holiday fare. The sweet illustrations, presenting wintry scenes and featuring some dramatic spreads, are mostly muted, with a palette composed largely of blue-grays, browns, ivory, black, and splashes of bright colors. Diminutive, saucer-eyed Merry is endearing and takes center stage throughout. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A “merry,” pleasant, and uplifting seasonal offering. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9781643752389
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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