Kids won’t be stone faced and will definitely stick with this delightful story about friendship.
When you search for family—and discover it’s always been there.
The pals introduced in Stick and Stone’s first eponymous outing (2015) set out on a quest for Stick’s literal family tree. From what kind of tree did he break off? Oak, spruce, willow? The duo ventures forth, determined to find Stick’s origins, traversing bodies of water, forests, valleys, and mountains. Though surrounded by trees, Stick can’t find his familial roots. Soon, things turn ominous: Darkness falls, shadows and strange noises become unnerving, and the terrified pair realizes they’re lost. No fear, though. They eventually return safely, and Stone helps disconsolate Stick understand who his family is and always has been—and that differences don’t matter. This sweetly adorable story, expressed textually through simple, jaunty verse, conveys the reassuring message that family and true friends always (ahem) stick by you when you need them. The bright illustrations, aptly set mostly in nature, are equally endearing, with the protagonists exuding optimism and cheerfulness (except during that scary forest adventure). They register a broad range of expressions, though their faces are created merely from dots and curves denoting broad smiles. Brownish Stick bears pairs of short, chunky projectiles connoting limbs; his tilted head resembles a wizard’s cap. Stone is orange-brown and looks like a rotund meatball. Endpapers feature numerous smiling iterations of Stick representing branches from different trees; included labels and leaves show variances.
Kids won’t be stone faced and will definitely stick with this delightful story about friendship. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-358-47302-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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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