Perhaps next time Maggi and Milo will learn about the golden rule
In their second outing, Maggi and her huge dog, Milo, visit a park where they make three new friends.
Maggi, a white girl with glasses and cowgirl boots, is taken to the park by her mother, who wants her daughter to make some friends other than her dog. The small park doesn’t allow dogs inside, so the mom sits outside on a bench next to Milo. Maggi meets a Latino boy named Antonio Carlos Enrique III (Ace for short), a redheaded white girl in a tutu named Sarah, and a black girl named Sydney, who (inexplicably) calls herself Amelia Earhart. They play together for a while and then decide to walk the dog. Maggi requests seven items (ranging from dandelions to sparkly rocks to acorns) to be collected from around the park as payment for dog-walking privileges. The children take turns walking Milo (outside the park gate), and the group then uses the collected natural items in further play, with two of the friends kindly teaching Maggi how to make something new. The morally questionable notion of charging newly acquired friends for the privilege of walking the dog is never addressed. While the plot is rather ho-hum, the story is told in an energetic, clever tone, and the digitally produced illustrations have a fluid appeal, with scratchy ink outlines and a loose, breezy style that lends immediacy to the overall effort. The cast of cute kids illustrated with large heads and skinny appendages is clearly positioned for more entries in the series.
Perhaps next time Maggi and Milo will learn about the golden rule . (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3776-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available.
A ghost learns to appreciate his differences.
The little ghost protagonist of this title is unusual. He’s a quilt, not a lightweight sheet like his parents and friends. He dislikes being different despite his mom’s reassurance that his ancestors also had unconventional appearances. Halloween makes the little ghost happy, though. He decides to watch trick-or-treaters by draping over a porch chair—but lands on a porch rail instead. A mom accompanying her daughter picks him up, wraps him around her chilly daughter, and brings him home with them! The family likes his looks and comforting warmth, and the little ghost immediately feels better about himself. As soon as he’s able to, he flies out through the chimney and muses happily that this adventure happened only due to his being a quilt. This odd but gently told story conveys the importance of self-respect and acceptance of one’s uniqueness. The delivery of this positive message has something of a heavy-handed feel and is rushed besides. It also isn’t entirely logical: The protagonist could have been a different type of covering; a blanket, for instance, might have enjoyed an identical experience. The soft, pleasing illustrations’ palette of tans, grays, white, black, some touches of color, and, occasionally, white text against black backgrounds suggest isolation, such as the ghost feels about himself. Most humans, including the trick-or-treating mom and daughter, have beige skin. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-16.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 66.2% of actual size.)
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7352-6447-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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