An effective boost of self-confidence for little ones.
It’s more than luck that wins the day.
Layla the ladybug considers herself to be very lucky, as most ladybugs are known to be. She has a lucky object for every occasion—she gives credit to her lucky pencil for her excellent spelling grades and to her lucky watering can for her super-tall flowers. So, with the “Great Garden Cake Bake” coming up, Layla knows just what to do. She relies on her lucky cup and lucky spoon to measure and stir the ingredients, baking it all “for three hours (Layla’s lucky number).” The result is a burned mess. Maybe she’s not so lucky after all. Forlorn, she follows a delicious smell to her friends’ lovely baked creations. They remind her that studying earned her good grades, and daily care made her flowers grow. “Your achievements come from you!” her friends proclaim. Layla forgoes her lucky charms and, with some guidance, makes a delicious cake. Key words that support the book’s lesson appear repeatedly in bold within the modest text, making the moral clear. Minimal art gets its job done effectively. Predominant visual symmetry throughout (the characters almost always face forward) makes for easy sight recognition for young readers. The large-eyed insects composed of simple shapes appear friendly, especially with the cheerful, bright colors of the garden.
An effective boost of self-confidence for little ones. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4338-3238-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Magination/American Psychological Association
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
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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