by Claire Tattersfield ; illustrated by Rob Sayegh Jr. ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 19, 2023
Sure to steal readers’ hearts.
A punctilious pig’s job as Cupid goes awry.
Cupig, a rotund porcine hero in heart-adorned undies, loves love. She adores it so much that every year on Valentine’s Day, she takes her trusty bow and arrow and helps spread desire. This year, however, the weather affects her aim. Gray swirls of gusty wind blow her arrows astray, causing her to accidentally hit some familiar, well-established couples. “Now Peanut Butter stopped loving Jelly / and fell in love with something smelly.” (The new pair is Peanut Butter and Anchovies.) Poor Jelly is tipped over, leaving a smudge shaped like a broken heart on the counter. “Needle and Thread had been a great team; / now they’re falling apart at the seams.” (Needle has fallen in love with a haystack; Thread is understandably unraveled.) Pair after pair are broken up and matched with new partners. Butterfly falls out of love with the sky and in love with a horse, and Paper’s affections shift from Pen to a polar bear; love knows no bounds. After some reflection, however, Cupig realizes her mistakes and goes off to set things right. Some readers may be slightly uneasy with the implication that romance should blossom only between couples who seem “right” for each other, but it’s mostly just a silly story of classic pairs reuniting. Tattersfield keeps a jaunty pace, and Sayegh’s smiling (and distraught) inanimate objects are a delight.
Sure to steal readers’ hearts. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Dec. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9780593623107
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
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by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2021
A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors.
A confused squirrel overreacts to the falling autumn leaves.
Relaxing on a tree branch, Squirrel admires the red, gold, and orange leaves. Suddenly Squirrel screams, “One of my leaves is…MISSING!” Searching for the leaf, Squirrel tells Bird, “Someone stole my leaf!” Spying Mouse sailing in a leaf boat, Squirrel asks if Mouse stole the leaf. Mouse calmly replies in the negative. Bird reminds Squirrel it’s “perfectly normal to lose a leaf or two at this time of year.” Next morning Squirrel panics again, shrieking, “MORE LEAVES HAVE BEEN STOLEN!” Noticing Woodpecker arranging colorful leaves, Squirrel queries, “Are those my leaves?” Woodpecker tells Squirrel, “No.” Again, Bird assures Squirrel that no one’s taking the leaves and that the same thing happened last year, then encourages Squirrel to relax. Too wired to relax despite some yoga and a bath, the next day Squirrel cries “DISASTER” at the sight of bare branches. Frantic now, Squirrel becomes suspicious upon discovering Bird decorating with multicolored leaves. Is Bird the culprit? In response, Bird shows Squirrel the real Leaf Thief: the wind. Squirrel’s wildly dramatic, misguided, and hyperpossessive reaction to a routine seasonal event becomes a rib-tickling farce through clever use of varying type sizes and weights emphasizing his absurd verbal pronouncements as well as exaggerated, comic facial expressions and body language. Bold colors, arresting perspectives, and intense close-ups enhance Squirrel’s histrionics. Endnotes explain the science behind the phenomenon.
A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-3520-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
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by Alice Walstead ; illustrated by Andy Elkerton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 2, 2022
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
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