Sweet but not cloying, purposive but not pedantic.
A confident cat knows the right way to do everything. But is there a right way?
Lucy, a little striped cat in a blue beret, can build a tower, do gymnastics, play the xylophone, eat with a spoon and fork, and fold a piece of paper into a perfect star. When any of the other animals are stumped, they come to Lucy for help. But everything changes when Toshi, a blue-and-white panda with pink cheeks from “far away” (that’s what the sticker on his cute pink luggage says) arrives. His gymnastics are all wrong. (He practices yoga.) His music is strange. (He plays a samisen.) He doesn’t know how to use a spoon and fork. (He uses chopsticks.) And his paper folding is all wrong. (It’s origami.) All of this plays out in the brushy illustrations, the text communicating Lucy’s increasing frustration and Toshi’s serenity. Lucy can’t stand it; she screams at Toshi, “That’s NOT how you do it!” And Toshi simply gives her the lovely pink crane that’s he’s just made out of folded paper. Lucy meekly asks Toshi to show her how, and in return he asks her help in making a paper star. Before long, Lucy has made a flock of cranes and Toshi, a night sky full of stars. More important, each has found a friend. Hofmann-Maniyar delivers her valuable message effectively, with an appropriately light touch that delicately allows her illustrations to develop the conflict.
Sweet but not cloying, purposive but not pedantic. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-8464-3929-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Child's Play
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
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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