An utterly delightful and free-wheeling tale.
What’s a bike for if not to ride?
Accompanied by a “Free” sign, a bicycle attracts the attention of a pigeon (“A big bike!”). After a wobbly ride, the bird crashes and deems the bike “too big for me.” “Bye, bike.” A rhino discovers it next (“A little bike!”) and takes it for a spin. A few bumps later, the rhino decides it’s “too little for me” and bids it farewell. A cheetah rides the bike up a steep incline and then abandons it (“Too slow for me!”). A turtle climbs on and zooms down the incline (“Too fast for me!”). Other animals find the bike wanting for various comical reasons, so it remains alone. Then…a human finds it. It’s not in great shape, but with a little tinkering, it’s good as new, and the mechanic’s child learns to ride it expertly, because it’s “just right for me!” Eventually the youngster outgrows it and leaves it with another “Free” sign, to the delight of another child, for whom it’s perfect. This whimsical, thought-provoking story will charm readers with its kid-friendly exploration of how an object changes ownership over time; youngsters will appreciate the very satisfying conclusion—and may wish to discuss who left the bike at the start. The energetic, humorous illustrations, set mostly as vignettes against expanses of white space, were created digitally and with old postcards and other textured materials. Human characters are racially diverse.
An utterly delightful and free-wheeling tale. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063315235
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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