Let this one sashay away from your shelves.
A wig feels insignificant until it recalls its purpose.
Wig, a bright pink hair covering styled in a Brigitte Bardot–inspired bouffant, is the prized possession of a young boy named B.B. Bedazzle, who is participating in a drag contest called the Big Wig Ball. On the way to the event, Wig attracts attention and feels larger-than-life on B.B.’s head but upon arriving at the ball, suffers a crisis of confidence. Everywhere she looks, there are wigs that are even taller and showier than she is. Feeling intimidated, Wig abandons B.B. and flies through the air, zooming among the heads of audience members. With each head she lands on, Wig’s hairstyle changes, and the person is magically transformed into a fearless, glamorous drag queen. By instilling confidence in others, Wig regains her own. Recalling that she has left B.B.’s head bare, “Wig frizzes and fizzles and splits her ends, flying home FAST to find her friend” as the contest begins. Readers will smile at the satisfying ending. Why Wig feels more confident on heads other than B.B’s. and how B.B. feels after being temporarily abandoned by Wig are important questions left noticeably unaddressed. While clearly attempting to provide lighthearted encouragement for children who might feel inadequate, the choice of a wig—rather than a drag queen or queer child—as the entry point for empathy and self-reflection leaves much to be desired. Most characters have pale skin, and a few have textured hair and brown skin that cue them as Black. B.B. and B.B.’s parents are White.
Let this one sashay away from your shelves. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-8771-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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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