A delightful Christmas tale that has it all—holiday cheer, joy, and a most persistent moose.
Santa tells readers about an unusual Christmas.
Santa has a job opening, since Prancer will be attending a ventriloquist convention this year. So Elmore, a moose who’s long dreamed of pulling Santa’s sleigh, applies. He writes a letter to Santa describing his qualifications: He’s a “go-getter” with a “good sense of direction” who’s mostly overcome his elf phobia. Santa agrees to meet him but immediately notices that Elmore isn’t a reindeer. Elmore is sent home but mails another letter, promising to “hit the ground running.” Invited back, Elmore accomplishes just that: He remains on the ground. Back home, Elmore writes again, apologizing for omitting the “can’t fly” thing. Believing in the power of Christmas miracles, Santa decides to give Elmore another try. But Elmore, having made several unsuccessful attempts at flying, writes another letter wishing Santa good luck finding someone else and enclosing a batch of Chocolate Moose Cookies. This time, Santa offers Elmore a different job. This comical, warmhearted story with an original twist will not only have kids giggling and rooting for Elmore; it will also confirm their belief that wonders really do happen at Christmas. Elmore’s tongue-in-cheek correspondence will elicit belly laughs. Nervous Elmore, in his necktie, cuts an endearing figure, as does gentle, brown-skinned Santa, eager to find a place for the wayward moose. Boldt’s energetic cartoon illustrations are rife with fun details; note the riotous “classified ads” in front and back endpapers. Santa’s elves are racially diverse.
A delightful Christmas tale that has it all—holiday cheer, joy, and a most persistent moose. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9780593487167
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader!
Fun with friends makes for a great day.
Norbit, a salmon-colored worm with a pink kerchief, joyfully greets the day and everyone he encounters. “Hello, friends! It’s time for fun with the sun! Let’s play!” He and his menagerie of forest pals—including the sun, who grows limbs and descends from the sky—exuberantly engage in various forms of physical activity such as jumping, going down a slide, spinning around, and watching the clouds go by. Young readers will readily relate, as these are games that most children are familiar with. As day turns to night, Norbit says farewell to Sun and welcomes Moon with an invitation to continue the fun. Watkins has created a vivid world of movement and merriment. Her illustrations feature bright bursts of color that match the energy of the text, with most sentences ending in an exclamation point. The author/illustrator incorporates many elements that make for an ideal early-reading experience (despite the use of a contraction or two): art free from clutter, text consisting of words with only one or two syllables, and repetition and recurring bits, such as a continued game of hide-and-seek with Sun. Inspired by never-before-seen sketches from the Dr. Seuss Collection archives at the University of California San Diego, this is the first title for Seuss Studios, a new imprint for original stories from “emerging authors and illustrators” who “honor Seuss’s hallmark spirit of creativity and imagination.”
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader! (author's note) (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780593646212
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Seuss Studios
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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