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ANGELINA AND THE PRINCESS

Name: ANGELINA AND THE PRINCESS
Author: Katharine Holabird
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6961-7

From the Angelina Ballerina series

by Katharine Holabird ; illustrated by Helen Craig ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1984

If Holabird can continue to come up with empathic roles for Angelina, the series should have a devoted following.

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Angelina the winsome mouse ballerina, who debuted auspiciously last year, here encounters the perils of the performing life. On the day of tryouts for a special Royal Performance, she sneaks off with her ballet bag unbeknownst to her mother—busy in the kitchen of their thatched English snuggery (while a mouse Pierrot, one of many visual grace-notes, slumps mournfully at the window). But once on stage she gets dizzy and falls—and the leading roles in the Dance of the Flower Fairies go to Flora and Felicity. Mama is reproachful, then consoling, then affirmative: "You can still do your best with whatever part you are given, and that will help the whole performance." Angelina not only learns her own part, she memorizes the Dance of the Flower Fairies—and when Flora sprains her ankle the day of the Royal Performance, who do you think…? But this is a kindly story, so Flora gets to sit right next to the Princess of Mouseland—whom she eyes worshipfully, while all other eyes are on the stage. Like its predecessor, this is a dainty, even delectable-looking book without the least preciousness. If Holabird can continue to come up with empathic roles for Angelina, the series should have a devoted following. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1984

ISBN: 978-1-5344-6961-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarkson Potter

Review Posted Online: May 21, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1984

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

- BOOK REVIEW
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
by Katharine Holabird ; illustrated by Mike Deas

- BOOK REVIEW
ANGELINA'S CINDERELLA
by Katharine Holabird ; illustrated by Helen Craig

- BOOK REVIEW
ANGELINA'S BIG CITY BALLET
by Katharine Holabird ; illustrated by Helen Craig

- BOOK REVIEW
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
by Katharine Holabird ; illustrated by Mike Deas

- BOOK REVIEW
TWINKLE'S FAIRY PET DAY
by Katharine Holabird ; illustrated by Sarah Warburton

- BOOK REVIEW
TWINKLE THINKS PINK!
by Katharine Holabird ; illustrated by Sarah Warburton

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)

Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

- BOOK REVIEW
PETE THE KITTY'S FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL
by Kimberly Dean ; illustrated by James Dean

- BOOK REVIEW
I LOVE PETE THE KITTY
by James Dean & Kimberly Dean ; illustrated by James Dean

- BOOK REVIEW
TOOL SCHOOL
by Joan Holub ; illustrated by James Dean

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CREEPY PAIR OF UNDERWEAR!

by Aaron Reynolds ; illustrated by Peter Brown ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 22, 2017

Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...

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Awards & Accolades

Our Verdict

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Google Rating

Kirkus Reviews'
Best Books Of 2017

New York Times Bestseller

Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.

Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.

Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)