The Holm siblings strike again! (Picture book. 4-8)
Royal sibling rivalry.
The Evil Princess torments her brother in fulfillment of her moniker, going so far as to select a book from the castle library entitled 101 Spells to Torment Annoying Brothers for inspiration. Her brother, for his part, tries to be brave, but the Magic Mirror, who acts in loco parentis throughout the story, sends them both to their rooms when their conflict gets out of hand. Once isolated, both children end up deciding that it’s no fun being evil or brave all alone. The Brave Knight suggests a quest, and they go to save “a damsel in distress across the moat” (their black cat, who is “perfectly comfortable,” napping in the bathroom). Alas, this brief episode of teamwork can’t overpower their historical rivalry: The Evil Princess pushes her brother into the bathtub, and he (finally) retaliates. “Their Magic Mirror was not amused,” reads the droll text, and they again must join forces—this time to clean up. This is sure to elicit laughs from readers through its humorous text and playful, cartoon illustrations that effectively employ such graphic-novel techniques as dialogue balloons and sound effects to amp the chuckles. The princess has light skin and straight, dark hair while the knight has brown skin and dark, tightly curled hair. The text never comments on this, instead focusing on their rivalry; in doing so, it provides a welcome, rare, and inclusive mirror for many children in similar families.
The Holm siblings strike again! (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-7134-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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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