A gentle reminder that love is a song that must be sung and shared always—and never goes out of tune.
Music is sweetest when filled with love.
Maurice, “once a famous musician,” is an anthropomorphic floppy-eared brown dog who regales crowds all over Paris with beautiful accordion songs. His listeners—pooches of various breeds charmingly dressed in human garb—are delighted with tunes that fill quiet times and shut out the noisy city’s clamor. They reward him with coins, and Maurice repays them by sharing his heart. He’s kind and generous in other ways, too. He’s happiest among his numerous beloved pet birds, whose merry songs and chatter inspire him, for “a song, like love, is always better when it’s shared.” Sadly, Maurice’s audiences eventually disappear. Without money to feed his birds, he makes the heart-rending decision to free them. With them goes his music. With spring’s arrival, Maurice’s heart recalls the old songs. As his music returns, so do his birds, joined by new ones. The combined sounds bring an enchanted new crowd to listen to the melodies, filled again with love—as is Maurice’s apartment, shared with cherished birds once more. This is a sweet, quiet, contemplative story about the joys of sharing love, though perhaps one that may resonate more with adults, as will the delicately lovely Parisian scenes, brimming with Gallic character and iconic, beloved landmarks. Adults who’ve been there will swoon with longing to return. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gentle reminder that love is a song that must be sung and shared always—and never goes out of tune. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 9, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-79721-173-2
Page Count: 52
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
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
A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors.
A confused squirrel overreacts to the falling autumn leaves.
Relaxing on a tree branch, Squirrel admires the red, gold, and orange leaves. Suddenly Squirrel screams, “One of my leaves is…MISSING!” Searching for the leaf, Squirrel tells Bird, “Someone stole my leaf!” Spying Mouse sailing in a leaf boat, Squirrel asks if Mouse stole the leaf. Mouse calmly replies in the negative. Bird reminds Squirrel it’s “perfectly normal to lose a leaf or two at this time of year.” Next morning Squirrel panics again, shrieking, “MORE LEAVES HAVE BEEN STOLEN!” Noticing Woodpecker arranging colorful leaves, Squirrel queries, “Are those my leaves?” Woodpecker tells Squirrel, “No.” Again, Bird assures Squirrel that no one’s taking the leaves and that the same thing happened last year, then encourages Squirrel to relax. Too wired to relax despite some yoga and a bath, the next day Squirrel cries “DISASTER” at the sight of bare branches. Frantic now, Squirrel becomes suspicious upon discovering Bird decorating with multicolored leaves. Is Bird the culprit? In response, Bird shows Squirrel the real Leaf Thief: the wind. Squirrel’s wildly dramatic, misguided, and hyperpossessive reaction to a routine seasonal event becomes a rib-tickling farce through clever use of varying type sizes and weights emphasizing his absurd verbal pronouncements as well as exaggerated, comic facial expressions and body language. Bold colors, arresting perspectives, and intense close-ups enhance Squirrel’s histrionics. Endnotes explain the science behind the phenomenon.
A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-3520-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
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