A reassuring story of friendship in the face of change.
The art of Chinese paper cutting and the art of friendship come together in this heartfelt migration story.
Bundled up and brightly dressed, best friends Dandan and Yueyue gleefully stroll hand in hand through a snowy neighborhood in China. But joy soon turns to sorrow—Dandan learns that she and her family will soon be moving to America on the day of the Lunar New Year. The girls spend their remaining time together celebrating New Year’s Eve. They munch on dumplings, spend time with their families, and make bright red paper cuttings to serve as ornaments. With a tight hug and a stack of red paper as a parting gift, Yueyue urges Dandan to carry on their paper cutting tradition with a new friend in her new homeland. In America, Dandan feels lonely and friendless. Everything is different, she can’t speak English, and some of her new classmates laugh at her Chinese qipao dress. With a smile from a White, freckle-faced girl named Christina, though, her voice and a new friendship bloom. With so much to learn about her new home and her new friend, can Dandan keep old traditions—like paper cutting—alive? Liu’s descriptive text deftly captures the ups, downs, and in-betweens of a child’s experience moving to a new country. Scurfield’s digitally collaged pencil-and-ink illustrations are mostly bright and colorful, but a brief shift to monochrome underscores the strangeness of a new place and the anxiety of learning a new language. Repeated motifs underline the fact that regardless of geographical location, some things remain the same.
A reassuring story of friendship in the face of change. (author’s note, about the author, about paper cutting, how to make a snowflake instructions) (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Dec. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-77818-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Godwin Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
These reindeer games are a bit tired but, given the series’ popularity, should have a large, ready-made audience.
The How to Catch A… crew try for Comet.
Having already failed to nab a Halloween witch, the Easter Bunny, a turkey, a leprechaun, the Tooth Fairy, and over a dozen other iconic trophies in previous episodes of this bestselling series, one would think the racially diverse gaggle of children in Elkerton’s moonlit, wintry scenes would be flagging…but no, here they lay out snares ranging from a loop of garland to an igloo baited with reindeer moss to an enticing candy cane maze, all in hopes of snagging one of Santa’s reindeer while he’s busy delivering presents. Infused with pop culture–based Christmas cheer (“Now I’ve already seen the shelf with the elf”), Comet prances past the traps until it’s time to gather up the kids, most of whom look terrified, for a group snapshot with the other reindeer and then climb back into harness: “This was a great stop but a few million to go / Christmas Eve must continue with style!” Though festive, the verse feels trite and unlikely to entice youngsters. A sprinkling of “True Facts About Reindeer” (“They live in the tundra, where they have friends like the arctic bunny”) wrap up this celebration of the predatory spirit. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
These reindeer games are a bit tired but, given the series’ popularity, should have a large, ready-made audience. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
ISBN: 9781728276137
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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