As picturesque, nostalgic, and quaint as the happiest of holiday memories.
In this visual interpretation of a classic holiday song as sung by Peggy Lee, Hopgood strings together a beautiful, wintry chain of family pleasures.
Pure joy greets readers right from the start: the first double-page spread opens on a lovely snowy landscape with a fox, some deer, and a sleigh as musical notes accompany that familiar opening line, “Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?” Readers then meet a family of five with dark hair, rosy cheeks, and peach-colored skin. The loose narrative centers on this merry band as they frolic in the woods. Classic images of a winter paradise soon follow: building a snowman, watching snow fall, sledding down a hill, snuggling up near a fire, and much more. (The line “We’ll frolic and play the Eskimo way,” which seems to describe a snowball fight, will give some readers pause.) Hopgood’s crayon-and-pastel illustrations capture the sheer wonder of winter. Dark and soft blues dominate, serving as complementary backdrops for each spark of red, burst of orange, and smear of green. One particular double-page spread showing the family in front of a white tree with notes hung on its branches just gushes with wholesomeness. Better yet, each turn of the page matches each turn of the lyric impeccably. Both text and pictures cohere into utter cheerfulness, sure to get anybody singing along.
As picturesque, nostalgic, and quaint as the happiest of holiday memories. (lyrics, author’s note) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-62779-304-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: June 27, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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