Friendly amphibious fare for storytime.
Frog and Toad aren’t friends—but could they be?
When Frog and Toad snap their tongues at the same “juicy fly” within moments of each other, the insect cries, “I’m being eaten by two frogs!” Frog and Toad take immediate offense, and their prey escapes as they vociferously proclaim their differences amid a barrage of insults. Soon their respective amphibian brethren join in, and verbal gibes devolve into a raucous mud fight. Mantle’s bright, cartoon-style illustrations make great use of layout by separating frogs from toads with the book’s gutter immediately before mud starts flying—for instance, one spread depicts Frog’s and Toad’s tongues in a tug of war over the fly. Mantle again uses this compositional technique to ratchet up tension when an angry alligator appears, their sleep disturbed by the fight. Toad blames the frogs for the noise, and the alligator ultimately says they don't care who started the fuss since frogs and toads are “related” and they all taste the same. Instead of fixating on the threat of a hungry alligator, Frog and Toad express surprise at being relatives and quickly patch things over. “Thanks for showing us we’re all the same, Crocodile!” they say in gratitude, thus sparking a laugh-out-loud twist with the alligator’s outrage at being mistaken for a croc. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Friendly amphibious fare for storytime. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-2369-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
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
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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