Like the fools of Chelm, the Knoodle family can be a bunch of numbskulls when it comes to giving Hanukkah gifts that “will be treasured forever.” Choosing names from a hat, each family member returns with a gift that is precious to the giver rather than the receiver. Bubby Sadie gives Little Yekl a pickle barrel and Mama Pearl buys Papa Jack a straw hat decorated with purple ribbon and yellow daisies. Hippie-styled, ponytailed Papa Jack gives nonmusical Mama Pearl a sparkly red guitar. Daughter Shayna gives her thinly haired Bubby Sadie a curling iron. And Little Yekl presents his sister with a box full of live tree frogs. Oy vey! Such a commotion of confusion and distress! What to do? Call the rabbi for some advice and then re-exchange all the gifts. Happy to finally have what they each treasure most, the Knoodles enjoy the best Hanukkah ever. The colorful expressive caricature illustrations done in digital media provide an ethnic flavor to this loving family, enhancing the contemporary noodlehead premise which should have readers young and old shaking their heads in mild amusement. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-7614-5355-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2007
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
Turkey’s in the “kind of trouble where it’s almost Thanksgiving...and you’re the main course.” Accordingly, Turkey tries on disguise after disguise, from horse to cow to pig to sheep, at each iteration being told that he looks nothing like the animal he’s trying to mimic (which is quite true, as Harper’s quirky watercolors make crystal clear). He desperately squeezes a red rubber glove onto his head to pass as a rooster, only to overhear the farmer suggest a poultry plan B when he’s unable to turn up the turkey. Turkey’s horrified expression as he stands among the peppers and tomatoes—in November? Chalk it up to artistic license—is priceless, but his surroundings give him an idea. Good fun, but it may lead to a vegetarian table or two. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7614-5529-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2009
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