An understated delight from Israel.
Dog and cat best friends invite a lonely third into their companionship.
Sunny, a red dog with floppy white ears, and Snoozie, a gray tiger cat, live together in “a small house with a red window sill.” They have different predilections—Sunny is predictably active while Snoozie prefers to relax—but they are devoted to each other. The action begins when, after reminding Snoozie that tomorrow is her birthday, Sunny urges her friend up for a walk. Investigating a noise, Sunny enters a strange house over Snoozie’s remonstrations, discovering “a raggedy ball of black wool [with] two frightened eyes and a scruffy little face” huddling in a basket: So-So. The little dog lives alone, her best friend having moved to “a desert of ice” on “the other side of the world.” Sunny coaxes So-So and Snoozie into a rambunctious game, then Snoozie invites So-So to her birthday party tomorrow. So-So exhibits a classic case of extreme social anxiety, but she gathers her courage and, of course, has a wonderful time. Amit’s soft-edged illustrations, done in a palette of muted blues, reds, and grays, depict unclothed animals who walk on all fours and play boisterously but inhabit human homes and write using pen and paper. There is nary a human in sight, which lends a whimsically surreal touch to this gentle friendship tale. In Appel’s translation from Hebrew, Ben-Zvi’s narrative unfolds with a delicate sweetness that never tips into the saccharine.
An understated delight from Israel. (Fantasy. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-59270-282-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2020
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
Extraordinary introductory terror, beautiful to the eye and sure to delight younger horror enthusiasts.
What terrors lurk within your mouth? Jasper Rabbit knows.
“You have stumbled your way into the unknown.” The young bunny introduced in Reynolds and Brown’s Caldecott Honor–winning picture book, Creepy Carrots (2012), takes up Rod Serling’s mantle, and the fit is perfect. Mimicking an episode of The Twilight Zone, the book follows Charlie Marmot, an average kid with a penchant for the strange and unusual. He’s pleased when his tonsils become infected; maybe once they’re out he can take them to school for show and tell! That’s when bizarre things start to happen: Noises in the night. Slimy trails on his bedroom floor. And when Charlie goes in for his surgery, he’s told that the tonsils have disappeared from his throat; clearly something sinister is afoot. Those not yet ready for Goosebumps levels of horror will find this a welcome starter pack. Reynolds has perfected the tension he employed in his Creepy Tales! series, and partner in crime Brown imbues each illustration with both humor and a delicate undercurrent of dark foreshadowing. While the fleshy pink tonsils—the sole spot of color in this black-and-white world—aren’t outrageously gross, there’s something distinctly disgusting about them. And though the book stars cute, furry woodland creatures, the spooky surprise ending is 100% otherworldly—a marvelous moment of twisted logic.
Extraordinary introductory terror, beautiful to the eye and sure to delight younger horror enthusiasts. (Early chapter book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781665961080
Page Count: 88
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
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