A simpatico portrayal of holiday travel across time zones.
In this follow-up to Grandpa Grumps (2020), a Chinese family enjoys a traditional celebration.
There are 10 days until the new year when this picture book opens, and the countdown begins as Daisy travels to China to visit her grandfather, accompanied by Auntie. Daisy stays awake throughout the long flight while anticipating all the fun she and Yeh-Yeh (grandpa) will have together. When her bird kite fails to take off like Yeh-Yeh’s, however, and as jet lag sets in, Daisy becomes grumpy: Nothing—not the karaoke or painting or boat ride Yeh-Yeh arranged—feels as enjoyable as she had expected. Daisy’s struggle to process her emotions while hoping they will not affect Yeh-Yeh will resonate with anyone who has managed both their own and others’ disappointment. Eventually, Daisy succumbs to exhaustion and sleeps for well over a day, waking in time to help make zong zi (sticky rice treats wrapped in bamboo leaves). Only two days are left until the new year when Daisy’s spirits finally lift during an outing to the market, where she and Yeh-Yeh share a hearty laugh. Vivid spreads alternate between vignettes and close-ups of facial expressions registering surprise, frustration, and fatigue, while atmospheric full bleeds convey a child’s sense of wonder, festive fireworks, an extended-family gathering, and a bustling street parade. Cantonese and Mandarin phrases are featured; the backmatter includes two recipes. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A simpatico portrayal of holiday travel across time zones. (author’s and illustrator’s notes) (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Dec. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4998-1282-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
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
As ephemeral as a valentine.
Daywalt and Jeffers’ wandering crayons explore love.
Each double-page spread offers readers a vision of one of the anthropomorphic crayons on the left along with the statement “Love is [color].” The word love is represented by a small heart in the appropriate color. Opposite, childlike crayon drawings explain how that color represents love. So, readers learn, “love is green. / Because love is helpful.” The accompanying crayon drawing depicts two alligators, one holding a recycling bin and the other tossing a plastic cup into it, offering readers two ways of understanding green. Some statements are thought-provoking: “Love is white. / Because sometimes love is hard to see,” reaches beyond the immediate image of a cat’s yellow eyes, pink nose, and black mouth and whiskers, its white face and body indistinguishable from the paper it’s drawn on, to prompt real questions. “Love is brown. / Because sometimes love stinks,” on the other hand, depicted by a brown bear standing next to a brown, squiggly turd, may provoke giggles but is fundamentally a cheap laugh. Some of the color assignments have a distinctly arbitrary feel: Why is purple associated with the imagination and pink with silliness? Fans of The Day the Crayons Quit (2013) hoping for more clever, metaliterary fun will be disappointed by this rather syrupy read.
As ephemeral as a valentine. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Dec. 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-9268-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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