Cheerful, dear, and funny—with a comforting conclusion.
Two magpies try to fit everything but the kitchen sink into their nest.
Magpies Meg and Ash are enthusiastic homemakers and aspiring parents. In the tallest tree, they build a nest from classic materials: mud, grass, and sticks. “Then lastly, to keep it all cozy and clean, / they lined the whole thing with an old magazine.” Uh-oh! The magazine’s full of ads—quaint, old-fashioned ads that readers can peruse up-close on the endpapers—and a seed is planted. Meg and Ash don’t make any purchases (there’s no commerce in this animal world), but suddenly, all objects strike them as shiny and irresistible. Can the nest fit cuckoo clocks and socks? A bucket, a mop, a broom? Human-sized bicycles and an entire car? The nested accumulation eventually crashes down, causing a frantic search for the missing magpie eggs. The whole animal community (foxes, rabbits, bugs, more birds) pitches in. Gravett’s virtuosity at animal facial expressions is in top form, and her crisp, fine lines bring bright detail. Brilliant use of composition and white space showcases the magpies’ unbridled collecting but feels visually fascinating rather than busy. Much of the verse satisfies—Meg and Ash collect “a teddy abandoned by a bin, / the bin, and EVERYTHING within”— though the scansion sometimes slips: “The shiny bucket, and the lights / came clattering down from the heights.”
Cheerful, dear, and funny—with a comforting conclusion. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 22, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-9617-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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
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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