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ONE CHRISTMAS IN OUR BUILDING

Name: ONE CHRISTMAS IN OUR BUILDING
Author: Johanna Lindemann
ISBN: 9781782508618

A VERY MERRY MYSTERY

by Johanna Lindemann ; illustrated by Andrea Stegmaier ; translated by Polly Lawson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 19, 2023

A sweet, winning Yuletide offering.

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All’s well that ends well on Christmas.

On Christmas Eve, young Emma excitedly anticipates presents and turkey. Tensions mount as Dad and stepmom Susan disagree over when Emma should see the gifts under the tree. It doesn’t help that the turkey Dad bought doesn’t fit in Susan’s roasting pan or the fridge. Deciding to wait until Christmas morning to borrow a bigger pan from neighbors, Susan stores the turkey overnight in the cool hallway outside their apartment. Next morning, it’s gone! Emma suggests eating spaghetti, but Dad and Susan decide to call on the neighbors to investigate—except for the man who lives on the top floor and never speaks to anyone. No one’s seen the turkey, but everyone’s concerned. The quest is hopeless, and stores are shuttered; it seems spaghetti will be their Christmas fare after all. But then, all the neighbors show up with food offerings and join Emma and the family at their table; afterward, everyone laughs, sings, and plays games in a spirit of rejoicing, symbolizing the true meaning of Christmas. With touches of humor, this charming story, translated from German, underplays holiday trappings and emphasizes kindness and cooperation. The delightful illustrations were created with pencils and colored digitally. Emma and her parents are pale-skinned; the neighbors are racially, ethnically, and age diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A sweet, winning Yuletide offering. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023

ISBN: 9781782508618

Page Count: 36

Publisher: Floris

Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

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HANSEL AND GRETEL

by Stephen King ; illustrated by Maurice Sendak ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 2, 2025

Menacing and most likely to appeal to established fans of its co-creators.

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Existing artwork from an artistic giant inspires a fairy-tale reimagination by a master of the horror genre.

In King’s interpretation of a classic Brothers Grimm story, which accompanies set and costume designs that the late Sendak created for a 1997 production of Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera, siblings Hansel and Gretel survive abandonment in the woods and an evil witch’s plot to gobble them up before finding their “happily ever after” alongside their father. Prose with the reassuring cadence of an old-timey tale, paired with Sendak’s instantly recognizable artwork, will lull readers before capitalizing on these creators’ knack for injecting darkness into seemingly safe spaces. Gaping faces loom in crevices of rocks and trees, and a gloomy palette of muted greens and ocher amplify the story’s foreboding tone, while King never sugarcoats the peach-skinned children’s peril. Branches with “clutching fingers” hide “the awful enchanted house” of a “child-stealing witch,” all portrayed in an eclectic mix of spot and full-bleed images. Featuring insults that might strike some as harsh (“idiot,” “fool”), the lengthy, dense text may try young readers’ patience, and the often overwhelmingly ominous mood feels more pitched to adults—particularly those familiar with King and Sendak—but an introduction acknowledges grandparents as a likely audience, and nostalgia may prompt leniency over an occasional disconnect between words and art.

Menacing and most likely to appeal to established fans of its co-creators. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025

ISBN: 9780062644695

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

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PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

by James Dean ; illustrated by James Dean ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 18, 2018

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among

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Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.

If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)