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FIESTA!

Name: FIESTA!
Author: Elizabeth Silverthorne
ISBN: 1-56294-055-4

by Elizabeth Silverthorne & illustrated by Jan Davey Ellis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1992

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Subtitled Mexico's Great Celebrations, a basic discussion— in pleasant if somewhat dry prose—of the three cultures that have influenced Mexican life and art and the many colorful holidays and feasts that have resulted from this unique mix. While the text is occasionally anecdotal, Silverthorne mostly sticks to relating hard facts, resulting in a textbook quality. Still, the book is enlivened by colorful art reflecting Mexican themes, decorative motifs and by including simple crafts and recipes for youngsters to try. Useful. Glossary; calendar of fiestas; further reading; index. (Nonfiction. 9-12)

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1992

ISBN: 1-56294-055-4

Page Count: 64

Publisher: Millbrook

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1992

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

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THE CHRISTMASAURUS

by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Shane Devries ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 23, 2018

Reads like a grown-up’s over-the-top effort to peddle a set of kid-friendly premises—a notion that worked for the author’s...

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A boy asks Santa for a dinosaur and gets a life-changing experience.

Cribbing freely from any number of classic Christmas stories and films, musician/vlogger Fletcher places his 10-year-old protagonist, William, who uses a wheelchair, at the head of an all-white human cast that features his widowed dad, a girl bully, and a maniacal hunter—plus a dinosaur newly hatched from an egg discovered in the North Pole’s ice by Santa’s elves. Having stowed away on Santa’s sleigh, Christmasaurus meets and bonds with William on Christmas Eve, then, fueled by the power of a child’s belief, flies the lad to the North Pole (“It’s somewhere between Imagination and Make-Believe”) for a meeting with the jolly toymaker himself. Upon his return William gets to see the hunter (who turns out to be his uncle) gun down his dad (who survives), blast a plush dinosaur toy to bits, and then with a poster-sized “CRUNCH! GULP!” go down Christmasaurus’ hatch. In the meantime (emphasis on “mean”), after William spots his previously vicious tormenter, Brenda Payne, crying in the bushes, he forgives trespasses that in real life would have had her arrested and confined long ago. Seemingly just for laffs, the author tosses in doggerel-speaking elves (“ ‘If it’s a girl, can we call her Ginny?’ / ‘I think it’s a boy! Look, he’s got a thingy!’ ”) and closes with further lyrics and a list of 10 (secular) things to love about Christmas. Devries adds sugary illustrations or spot art to nearly every spread.

Reads like a grown-up’s over-the-top effort to peddle a set of kid-friendly premises—a notion that worked for the author’s The Dinosaur That Pooped a Planet (2017), but not here. (Fantasy. 9-11)

Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-5247-7330-4

Page Count: 384

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S DINOSAURS & PREHISTORIC CREATURES | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

- BOOK REVIEW
THERE'S A BEAR IN YOUR BOOK
by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Tom Fletcher

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THERE'S A UNICORN IN YOUR BOOK
by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Greg Abbott

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THERE'S A WITCH IN YOUR BOOK
by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Greg Abbott

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MONSTER MATH

by Anne Miranda & illustrated by Anne Miranda ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1999

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Miranda’s book counts the monsters gathering at a birthday party, while a simple rhyming text keeps the tally and surveys the action: “Seven starved monsters are licking the dishes./Eight blow out candles and make birthday wishes.” The counting proceeds to ten, then by tens to fifty, then gradually returns to one, which makes the monster’s mother, a purple pin-headed octopus, very happy. The book is surprisingly effective due to Powell’s artwork; the color has texture and density, as if it were poured onto the page, but the real attention-getter is the singularity of every monster attendee. They are highly individual and, therefore, eminently countable. As the numbers start crawling upward, it is both fun and a challenge to try to recognize monsters who have appeared in previous pages, or to attempt to stay focused when counting the swirling or bunched creatures. The story has glints of humor, and in combination with the illustrations is a grand addition to the counting shelf. (Picture book. 3-8)