Every young child deserves to know Small Walt.
Will the eponymous, anthropomorphic snowplow and his driver, Gus, be able to help a stray dog in the snowy city?
Of course, the resounding answer is yes—and with their characteristic teamwork and compassion. As always, the fun of watching the team do their careful work of plowing in areas too tight for the larger plows is enhanced by simple sentences, easily learned jingles, and plenty of onomatopoeia. In this episode, astute viewers will notice signs of the dog before Walt does; he in turn is ahead of Gus. When Gus—who presents as white—calls for help in rescuing the dog, a police SUV named Bea shows up with her dark-skinned, female driver, Officer Chance. Young readers are again given opportunities to speculate and predict: Will Walt’s open cab door help the humans as they stumble about, trying to catch the “blur of fur”? The climactic chase scene ends with the SUV taking the dog away, acknowledging Walt’s contribution: “Take a bow, plow.” Later, Gus drives a somewhat saddened Walt to the animal shelter. The anticipated ending includes a new rhyme that presents the new threesome. The retro-style illustrations include diversity in humans. As in previous books, universally lauded human values come through with no trace of didacticism. And the carefully crafted sentences with limited, repetitive vocabulary work well for both beginning readers and the read-aloud crowd. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Every young child deserves to know Small Walt. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-4284-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2020
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
Sadly, the storytelling runs aground.
A little red sleigh has big Christmas dreams.
Although the detailed, full-color art doesn’t anthropomorphize the protagonist (which readers will likely identify as a sled and not a sleigh), a close third-person text affords the object thoughts and feelings while assigning feminine pronouns. “She longed to become Santa’s big red sleigh,” reads an early line establishing the sleigh’s motivation to leave her Christmas-shop home for the North Pole. Other toys discourage her, but she perseveres despite creeping self-doubt. A train and truck help the sleigh along, and when she wishes she were big, fast, and powerful like them, they offer encouragement and counsel patience. When a storm descends after the sleigh strikes out on her own, an unnamed girl playing in the snow brings her to a group of children who all take turns riding the sleigh down a hill. When the girl brings her home, the sleigh is crestfallen she didn’t reach the North Pole. A convoluted happily-ever-after ending shows a note from Santa that thanks the sleigh for giving children joy and invites her to the North Pole next year. “At last she understood what she was meant to do. She would build her life up spreading joy, one child at a time.” Will she leave the girl’s house to be gifted to other children? Will she stay and somehow also reach ever more children? Readers will be left wondering. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 31.8% of actual size.)
Sadly, the storytelling runs aground. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-72822-355-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
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