A gentle, beautifully illustrated tale, ideal for bedtime.
A child issues a gentle good night to the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac.
A young child with black hair and rosy cheeks lovingly gathers stuffies and household pets before bringing them to bed. Layered lines and textured shapes with bright contrasting colors reveal different scenes of each sleeping zodiac animal. Simplified Chinese characters are written alongside each slumber-themed poetic stanza, such as “a clever mouse lies down to rest her weary ears and head.” This pattern goes on to portray an ox family snoozing amid various hues of blue plants; then as the “striped and mighty tiger snores softly, gently, sweet,” a brightly striped tiger with exaggerated proportions lies surrounded by bold green plants. Every animal gets highlighted, from a bundle of floppy-eared bunnies to vividly blue dragons in a rustic cave. Eye-catching illustrations provide plenty of engagement. Readers will be entranced as they follow every wiggly snake across the pages and examine the cozy curls of the sheep’s wool. The narrative eventually circles back by relaying how all zodiac members “safeguard dreams” as toy representatives populate the child’s room. Despite a few variances in pace and rhymes, the story projects an overall cozy tone. Brief notes explaining the legend of the zodiac and ties to the lunar calendar follow.
A gentle, beautifully illustrated tale, ideal for bedtime. (guide to Chinese zodiac legend, guide to the lunar calendar and the zodiac) (Picture book. 0-5)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2024
ISBN: 9781536232356
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property.
Since a reformed Grinch is hardly any fun, this follow-up Grinches him up once more.
Those seeking more of the same, prepare to receive precisely that. Christmas is coming (again!), and the Grinch can hardly wait. He’s been patient all year, and now he can finally show the Whos down in Who-ville how much he’s changed. When the Grinch learns of a tree-decorating contest, he figures that if he wins, it’ll prove he truly has the Christmas spirit. He throws himself into the task, but when it comes time to judge the trees, the Grinch is horrified to discover that he’s received only the second-place trophy. Can Cindy-Lou Who find the words to save the day? Replicating many of the original beats and wordplay of the original, this tale feels like less a sequel and more like a vaguely rewritten variation. Meanwhile, Ruiz’s art seeks to bridge the gap between the animated Chuck Jones version of the Grinch and the one depicted in the original book. This thankless task results in a strange uncanny valley between Seuss and Jones but does allow the artist a chance to colorize everything and lend some racial diversity to the Who population (Cindy-Lou is light-skinned). (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9780593563168
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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