Encouraging and curious.
A sleepy yet poignant pink highlighting characters’ footwear is the sole pigment in this ode to literal and figurative steps.
Illustrations of nameless characters who are diverse in terms of race and ability are joined by sparse text. The opening question “What happens when you take a step?” is turned over carefully, like a precious stone. Poetic declarations like “You greet the world, wide and full” answer the query. A child with curly hair and skin the color of the white page opens a door from an empty room to a vague outdoor landscape. Other scenes include children observing nature, visiting a museum, and attending a rally (“You move toward hope, and you make the world better…”). Though the message of the power of a single step is a good one, it’s somewhat ambiguous, and some readers may be lost or put off by the negative space and lack of colors. Caregivers or educators may want to offer guidance or prompt readers to think about the text. While people using wheelchairs, rolling walkers, and crutches are depicted, they are limited to ensemble scenes and to a spread with close-ups of different feet rather than on pages portraying individual children. Those who enjoyed Murguia’s previous works, Henry Cole’s black-and-white Spot & Dot (2019) or Spot, the Cat (2016), or Cori Doerrfeld’s social emotional books will appreciate these gently crafted, spot colored pages. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Encouraging and curious. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-7367-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
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
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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