A common nighttime challenge faced with love—and yawns.
A curious froglet asks too many questions before bedtime.
When Cosmo was just a tadpole, he would sleep anywhere and everywhere. Tightly swaddled, he would snuggle down, and the snoozing wouldn’t stop. But as Cosmo grew, things changed. Now he has many important tasks to complete each night, such as practicing karate, writing poetry about cheese, or having tea with a favorite stuffed animal. “BEDTIME IS BORING!” he shouts while hopping on his bed. His bedraggled, sleep-deprived mom tries to establish a bedtime routine, but even after “five stories, 17 kisses, one sleepy song, and two snuggly hubs,” Cosmo’s energy doesn’t fade. He peppers Mommy with a slew of questions. “Do ants sleep through thunderstorms?” “Are there ghosts in my ears?” (His inquiries may spark readers to begin their own set of questions, starting with: Do frogs have ears?) Luckily, Cosmo’s fatigue catches up to him, and he realizes that being tired during the day isn’t worth the fun he has at night. Even in their weary moments, Birkett’s amphibians fit right in on the aptly named Cheery Street; Mommy never wavers in supporting her froglet, and Cosmo tries (“with all of his froggy heart”) to beat his internal bedtime battle. Bright, sunny colors give way to deep purples and blues, lulling little ones to sleep.
A common nighttime challenge faced with love—and yawns. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781536241273
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
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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