Real warmth followed by a rush of triumph helps make this book stand out.
Friendship wins out over natural instincts in another outing with the big-eyed black cat.
In previous outings Max the Brave (2015) and Max at Night (2016), the energetic and persistent titular feline has conquered fears and doggedly researched his way to a happy ending. Now the kitten must reconcile his new friendship with Bird, a similarly ink-heavy creature who looks like a giant single eye with the smallest of wings and a beak. Max must decide whether to follow his gut and make the small bird a snack or to embrace friendship. “But it’s a rule of nature. Birds get chased by kittens,” Max explains. “But friends don’t eat each other up!” Bird retorts. Since Bird is too small to snack on at the moment anyway, the little creature asks Max to help him learn to fly. That involves a trip to the library (“Libraries know everything,” says Bird) and advice from a pigeon. As with the previous books, Max and his companion’s enormous expressiveness makes the story work, but the varying, boldly colored backgrounds and playful typography, particularly the emphatic iterations of “Flap,” enhance the technique even further. Max may not seem like the best choice of friend at first, but he and Bird make a winning duo by book’s end.
Real warmth followed by a rush of triumph helps make this book stand out. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3558-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
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