This cozy duo shows why every day should be Thanksgiving.
A gentle reminder to give thanks for all that you have.
One day, a rabbit and a frog ramble around their rural community with two purposes in mind. First, they share their thanks for their world filled with comfort, friends, food, family, nature, and affection. “We give thanks for cousins / and for fathers and for mothers. / We give thanks for grandpas / and for sisters and for brothers.” One couplet bobbles the scansion but is charming nevertheless. Another, scent-filled verse hints at “noses” and creatively rhymes “roses” with “toeses.” And as they make their way, the rabbit and the frog also seem to issue invitations to everyone in the community, resulting in a friend-filled feast and their final message of inclusion: “Bless our nights and bless our days / and bless all those we meet. // We give thanks for everything, / and now… // it’s time to EAT!” In places, illustrations with pops of neon blue, pink, green, and purple against a generally pastel palette play whimsically with the gentle text. However, the bright green frog in a fluorescent pink, feathered hat is giggleworthy, as is his creative yellow portrait of a brown dog and the studio cat dripping with yellow paint in a picture where literal readers may expect the yellow dog and yellow cat of the verse. Young readers will also appreciate snow-capped mountains in neon blue and shocking pink and the creative, but perhaps out of control, vehicles. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
This cozy duo shows why every day should be Thanksgiving. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4424-6507-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
Lighthearted and un-scary enough for bedtime.
Talk show host Fallon and illustrator Deas follow up 5 More Sleeps ’Til Christmas (2020) with a story of a youngster preparing for Halloween.
“It’s FIVE more sleeps ’til Halloween, / that spooky time of year / where all the ghosts are wide awake / as nighttime’s drawing near.” A calendar page with a large numeral 5 curls before a bright orange pumpkin. An orange-haired, light-skinned moppet wearing an enormous pair of blue glasses is hunkered down in bed with Gary the dog, whose vibrant blue coloring matches the bedspread. Occasionally accompanied by a sibling, the young narrator counts down day by day, describing seasonal activities: picking out a costume, navigating a corn maze, watching scary movies, taking part in a parade, going on a hayride, and trick-or-treating. The rhyming verses are sometimes a bit rocky but always fun. The text is periodically punctuated by the word boo, which appears in large, cartoonlike lettering; that, along with the calendar countdown motif, adds a pleasant repetition. Though the child confides feelings of trepidation (“What if bats fly in my room? / I think I’ll close my window now”), descriptions of scary moments are always offset by brightly colored, exuberant artwork. Humor abounds: Gary looks both hilarious and sweet dressed in a ghost costume that matches the narrator’s. The final page neatly closes the circle as the child goes from anticipating the holiday to participating in it and back again.
Lighthearted and un-scary enough for bedtime. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9781250857798
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
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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