Unlikely to become a classic.
As he did in Five Little Pumpkins (1998) and Five Little Bunnies (2016), Yaccarino revisits the familiar fingerplay formula and links it to a holiday.
Santa's elves are packing the “sled” (not sleigh) and anticipating Santa's round-the-world journey. The green elves, though smiling, look ghoulish, almost evil, especially the one with sharp pointy glasses. They resemble the characters in some of Yaccarino's illustrated texts for older children, such as Delivery of Doom (2014), which is fine for intergalactic pizza deliverers but not the kind of introduction likely to make a toddler happy to meet the mall Santa for the requisite photo op. In contrast, the children who receive the presents have the innocence of Yaccarino’s Doug Unplugged (2013) characters. The whole package is a mixed bag. The text starts out simply enough, with “Five little elves sitting on a sled.” By the fourth elf's line (“We bring great joy to every little girl and boy”), the text is too long and the scansion is awkward. Although they don't follow any predictable order, it is clear which elf is speaking, as it’s the only one with an open mouth. Toddlers raised on television graphics may find these elves appealing, and adults may find it useful when they just can't face another reading of “The Night Before Christmas.”
Unlikely to become a classic. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-225338-5
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HarperFestival
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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BOOK REVIEW
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver.
The farmyard's chickens experience Halloween.
A round, full moon shines in the sky, and the chickens of Boynton's barnyard are feeling “nervous.” Pumpkins shine “with flickering eyes,” witches and wizards wander the pastures, and one chicken has seen “a mouse of enormous size.” It’s Halloween night, and readers will delight as the chickens huddle together and try to figure out what's going on. All ends well, of course, and in Boynton's trademark silly style. (It’s really quite remarkable how her ranks of white, yellow-beaked chickens evoke rows of candy corn.) At this point parents and children know what they're in for when they pick up a book by the prolific author, and she doesn't disappoint here. The chickens are silly, the pigs are cute, and the coloring and illustrations evoke a warmth that little ones wary of Halloween will appreciate. For children leery of the ghouls and goblins lurking in the holiday's iconography, this is a perfect antidote, emphasizing all the fun Halloween has to offer.
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7611-9300-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The small size, a predictable winter adventure, and Boynton’s very toddlerlike character make this a fine stocking stuffer...
Seven years after Little Pookie (2011) first appeared, this popular piglet is finally celebrating Christmas.
“Oh Pookie! Come look! It’s beginning to snow,” says a maternal-looking pig. But where did Pookie go? Past the Christmas tree, to put on a snowsuit of course. Pookie’s ever cheerful mama is willing to go out too. After all, “It’s a magical time to be walking with you.” When she observes, “Our noses are frozen. It’s time to go in,” Pookie protests in typical toddler style: “But I’m not c-c-c-cold!” The next three pages highlight indoor holiday preparations—making paper garlands, baking and decorating cookies. The rhyming text mirrors the spare illustrations. A spidery type that emulates handwriting makes it clear when Pookie is speaking. Then “the doorbell is ringing. / Our family and friends have arrived for the singing.” The second-to-last spread shows Pookie, mama, and six other pigs—and Boynton’s requisite chicken—singing (“Con brio”), “MER-RY CHRIST-MAS! MER-RY CHRIST-MAS! AND A HAP-PY NEW YEAR!” Conveniently, this text is placed beneath the musical notation. Finally Pookie hangs a stocking and goes off to bed without any fuss, anticipating presents on Christmas morning.
The small size, a predictable winter adventure, and Boynton’s very toddlerlike character make this a fine stocking stuffer or an ideal Christmas Eve read to share with other little piggies. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3724-1
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
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BOOK REVIEW
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