This restrained, thoughtful story effectively captures some of the contradictory emotions a child may feel during the...
A boy named Fritz selects and decorates a Christmas tree in this quiet tale of enjoying the holiday as a family.
Fritz, his parents, and their dog drive out to the country to cut down a Christmas tree together, presumably for the first time, judging from the level of excitement in the text: “It’s a real tree!” Back home, Fritz is in charge of decorating the tree and soon discovers there aren’t enough ornaments for their huge tree. He “makes an amazing discovery—almost anything can be an ornament!” Fritz adds toys, drawings, and gingerbread cookies to the tree, making it his own creation. The family’s Christmas celebrations are centered on the tree, and Fritz is saddened when the holiday season is over and the dried-out tree must be taken away to be chipped. He overcomes his melancholy by keeping one small, bare branch for his bedside table, decorating it with a few special items. The understated text doesn’t point out that Fritz has learned how to keep the Christmas spirit alive, but that message is conveyed in a subtle and original way. Subdued ink-and-watercolor illustrations use cool tones and hazy backgrounds to create a quiet atmosphere with mysterious overtones. There’s a bittersweet sense that the magic of the Christmas season can’t last, underscored by the litter of dead needles left behind by the tree, but it is countered by Fritz’s ingenuity.
This restrained, thoughtful story effectively captures some of the contradictory emotions a child may feel during the Christmas season. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7556-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
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
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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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