More engaging fun than many higher-tech devices.
Every page demands that readers physically interact with this book’s images.
The large, sturdy pages are necessary to support the plethora of interactions. The first double-page spread looks busy: a pattern of tiny red rectangles in the background and lots of silhouettes of familiar images in the foreground, each in green, black, or a primary color. A blue hand points to a yellow semicircle with the instruction, “Place your ear here.” After asking if readers have heard anything, the text announces, “I thought I heard a voice.” The next page directs readers to place their hands on a series of dots arranged in the shapes of hands. The text clarifies that telling this story will require “your fingers, your eyes, your ears…and maybe your nose.” The clever use of shapes and instructions will keep young readers involved from beginning to end, puzzling out the source of the supposed voice—although endpapers offer a big hint. Little fingers are encouraged to, among other things, walk, tiptoe, and drum-roll. There are also two vocalizing opportunities—and, yes, a chance to use the nose. Fingers will move over shapes representing a forest, rivers, and the dark: a black double-page spread with two round, white shapes. Are those eyeballs?! For optimal use, no more than three at a time should share this book, unless desiring chaotic silliness.
More engaging fun than many higher-tech devices. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-84976-429-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Tate/Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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
A disappointing follow-up.
Inventor Izzy Gizmo is back in this sequel to her eponymous debut (2017).
While busily inventing one day, Izzy receives an invitation from the Genius Guild to their annual convention. Though Izzy’s “inventions…don’t always work,” Grandpa (apparently her sole caregiver) encourages her to go. The next day they undertake a long journey “over fields, hills, and waves” and “mile after mile” to isolated Technoff Isle. There, Izzy finds she must compete against four other kids to create the most impressive machine. The colorful, detail-rich illustrations chronicle how poor Izzy is thwarted at every turn by Abi von Lavish, a Veruca Salt–esque character who takes all the supplies for herself. But when Abi abandons her project, Izzy salvages the pieces and decides to take Grandpa’s advice to create a machine that “can really be put to good use.” A frustrated Izzy’s impatience with a friend almost foils her chance at the prize, but all’s well that ends well. There’s much to like: Brown-skinned inventor girl Izzy is an appealing character, it’s great to see a nurturing brown-skinned male caregiver, the idea of an “Invention Convention” is fun, and a sustainable-energy invention is laudable. However, these elements don’t make up for rhymes that often feel forced and a lackluster story.
A disappointing follow-up. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68263-164-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
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