Visually sparkling—but with a text that doesn’t always suit the audience.
A rhyming Halloween seek-and-find book gives readers some practice counting from one to 13 (natch).
“There’s a party at Mr. Pumpkin’s tonight, / a banquet with friends in autumn twilight. / And at this soirée we’ll see and we’ll find / ghoulish delights of every kind.” The host himself contributes a beautifully decorated cake, and each of the seven guests brings increasing numbers of treats to the table, from Sir Bones’ two jugs of cider to Baron Laguna’s 12 balloons. Bats, cups of tea, and singing frogs round out the counting, which ends with the clock striking 13 and the end of the party. Barker’s illustrations are a delight, the spooky details softened by a cartoonish treatment and soft color palette; nothing here is threatening or too scary. But the text doesn’t live up to the artwork. The clever character names are sure to go over the heads of readers still interested in finding and counting items in the pictures, and scansion and meaning sometimes take a back seat to the rhythm and rhyme. As a result, the word order can be confusing for young children: “Follow six lamps— / to the house they will lead.”
Visually sparkling—but with a text that doesn’t always suit the audience. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-936669-77-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: blue manatee press
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Cookie-cutter predictability.
After all the daring escapes in the How To Catch… series, will the kids be able to catch Santa?
Oddly, previous installments saw the children trying (and failing) to catch an elf and a reindeer, but both are easily captured in this story. Santa, however, is slippery. Tempted but not fooled by poinsettias, a good book (attached to a slingshot armed with a teddy bear projectile), and, of course, milk and cookies, Santa foils every plan. The hero in a red suit has a job to do. Presents must be placed, and lists must be checked. He has no time for traps and foolery (except if you’re the elf, who falls for every one of them). Luckily, Santa helps the little rascal escape each time. Little is new here—the kids resort to similar snares found in previous works: netting, lures, and technological wonders such as the Santa Catcher 5000. Although the rhythm falters quite a bit (“How did we get out you ask? / It looked like we were done for. / Santa’s magic is very real, / and I cannot reveal more”), fans of the series may not mind. Santa and Christmas just might be enough to overcome the flaws. Santa and the elf are light-skinned, one of the children is brown-skinned, and the other presents as Asian. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Cookie-cutter predictability. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781728274270
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
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
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