Outdoor enthusiasts will celebrate this brave young heroine as she schools the town on acceptance.
A lanky, little explorer paddles her canoe on a lake and inadvertently sings up a huge, green beast.
All the other boaters scatter in a panicked frenzy, but later that night, under a moonlit sky, Hattie McFadden returns to the middle of the still lake. Without the distraction of motor boats, the white redhead takes the time to befriend Hudson. The next day, the townsfolk meet to suggest ways to get rid of “the Deadly Beast.” Dismayed, Hattie thinks, “If only they knew him.” The two new friends put together a plan to convince the town of Hudson’s kindness. Hattie bravely finds her voice and makes an announcement to the town: “This lake is his home, and I think he deserves to stay. Once you get to know him, I’m sure you’ll agree.” The glory of lakeshore life is celebrated as idyllic, with lush forests and hills and cool blue water. An undercurrent of environmentalism is present in the symbolic canoe compared to motorboats, and the message of getting to know strangers is a timely one. The gouache illustrations are filled with details that bring light and life to the pages, from each water droplet to every rolled-up sleeve. Hudson, although enormous, is drawn with expressive eyes and a lovely green hue that reflects the stars in the sky, and Van Dusen expertly takes advantage of perspective and composition to make sure readers remember at all times exactly how huge Hudson is.
Outdoor enthusiasts will celebrate this brave young heroine as she schools the town on acceptance. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 9, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6545-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Feb. 13, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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