Draw this one from the shelf for a fun, metafictive read.
Part Ed Emberley, with a dash of Pigeon, and entirely meta.
The offstage narrator begins by introducing a small, gray, gumdrop of a shape set against an empty graph-paper background, saying, “This is my shape.” The shape immediately establishes itself as sentient, asking, “What am I?” It then answers its own question in speech-balloon text reading, “I am a nothing shape.” The narrator quickly counters this statement by transforming it into a line drawing of a cat, using the original shape as the body and adding a face, ears, limbs, and a tail. This is where the horse from the title comes in, as the cat says, “I want a horse.” The narrator immediately demurs, explaining, “A horse is hard to draw. I cannot draw a horse.” Ensuing pages show the narrator’s attempts to please the cat by drawing many different creatures and objects (excluding the desired horse), perhaps recalling Ed Emberley’s fingerprint drawing books as the little gray shape morphs into many things. While persistence and temper tantrums worthy of Willems’ Pigeon don’t cajole the narrator into equine drawings, the cat finally offers the narrator encouragement, and that does the trick. An ambiguous ending after the horse requests a bicycle will leave readers wondering what’s in store for the characters. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Draw this one from the shelf for a fun, metafictive read. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4549-4594-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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