A shell of a good time.
Why did the snail cross the road? Cabbage. How? That’s another story.
While “scooting around” one day, Snail spots a field of scrumptious cabbage on the other side of a dangerous road. The self-assured gastropod approaches the obstacle with a can-do attitude: “Well, you won’t stop me!” After traveling for some time—and generating a glistening trail of slime—Snail decides to take a break. Just then, a vehicle in the distance zooms closer. Snail narrowly avoids it. Further perils and delays arise, but the “cabbage bound” hero slimes his way out of them all. Despite all the stress, Snail keeps it kind: He invites a “troop of rowdy ants” inside his shell (and his vintage-decorated living room) to take shelter from the rain. But between the tea and other distractions, will Snail ever make it to his lunch? Though snail-centric, Tabor’s story is far from snail’s pace: Deft shifts between double- and single-page spreads and other visual cues heighten the drama of the fraught adventure. The cartoon illustrations digitally combine pencil, watercolor, and ink to create beautiful textures. Careful readers may see a visual mismatch between the more-detailed spreads and those set against a white background (e.g., how big is Snail’s shell home anyway?). Still, Tabor (of 2019 Geisel-winning Fox the Tiger fame) shines; his clever reversal of expectations will replace any skepticism with a fit of giggles.
A shell of a good time. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-287800-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
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
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