A suitably festive deployment of the familiar song, now safely in the public domain.
A gift book featuring an expanded version of the “Happy Birthday” song with new verses, accompanying illustrations, and even a button to push that plays a recording of the familiar song.
The button is embedded in the front cover, so readers can push it to play the song before opening the book. It’s sung by an a cappella chorus of apparently untrained voices, and the sound quality is quite poor, but at least it does not have the tinny sound that many such chips do. Once readers open the book, they’ll see a page ready for personalization reading “Dear__________ Today you’re turning________! With much love,_____________.” The opening text featuring the familiar verse of the song also leaves a blank line where one might fill in a name. Accompanying brightly colored, festive, cartoon-style illustrations feature anthropomorphic animals singing, dancing, and celebrating. Ensuing new lyrics—about friends, cake, cards, gifts, clowns, balloons, and so on—could all be sung to the opening verse’s tune. Humor seems to poke gentle fun at different ages, with adults turning down loud music, a little bear saying “I am this many” as it holds up two fingers, and an elderly badger saying “I am 80 years young.” There’s no story to follow here, which ends up making it read rather like an expanded birthday card rather than a book.
A suitably festive deployment of the familiar song, now safely in the public domain. (Picture book. 3-adult)Pub Date: May 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-63322-243-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Moondance/Quarto
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
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This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers.
The bestselling series (How to Catch an Elf, 2016, etc.) about capturing mythical creatures continues with a story about various ways to catch the Easter Bunny as it makes its annual deliveries.
The bunny narrates its own story in rhyming text, beginning with an introduction at its office in a manufacturing facility that creates Easter eggs and candy. The rabbit then abruptly takes off on its delivery route with a tiny basket of eggs strapped to its back, immediately encountering a trap with carrots and a box propped up with a stick. The narrative focuses on how the Easter Bunny avoids increasingly complex traps set up to catch him with no explanation as to who has set the traps or why. These traps include an underground tunnel, a fluorescent dance floor with a hidden pit of carrots, a robot bunny, pirates on an island, and a cannon that shoots candy fish, as well as some sort of locked, hazardous site with radiation danger. Readers of previous books in the series will understand the premise, but others will be confused by the rabbit’s frenetic escapades. Cartoon-style illustrations have a 1960s vibe, with a slightly scary, bow-tied bunny with chartreuse eyes and a glowing palette of neon shades that shout for attention.
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3817-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
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BOOK REVIEW
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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
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