Sweet in mood but incomplete in logic.
A boy, his sled, and a fantasy about a very special tree: could it possibly be true?
It’s a very snowy winter, and young Charles wants to find “a wish tree.” Both his brother and sister say there’s “no such thing.” So Charles asks Boggan (a sleek toboggan whose front looks a bit like a face, the rope handle a convenient smile), who thinks there must surely be a wish tree. So off the duo sets. They help a friendly red squirrel gather hazelnuts, bring birch wood on Boggan for a beaver’s new lodge, and gather berries to help a fox fill her burrow. But the wish tree is nowhere to be found, and half the day is over. All this work and the darkening day make Charles tired, and he lies down on Boggan for a nap. When he wakes up, it’s late, and all the animals have gathered. Most significant of all, there’s the wish tree right in front of Charles, gleaming white. Charles writes his wish on a piece of paper and ties it around a branch. He and the forest animals enjoy a holiday feast before it’s time for Charles and Boggan to be on their way. Though textual repetition and onomatopoeia make this easy on the tongue, the whimsy of Maclear’s tale feels strained, and its lessons are murky. Turnham’s digital illustrations are well-composed, and Charles and Boggan are an appealing if unlikely pair.
Sweet in mood but incomplete in logic. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4521-5065-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Whether spoken by a dinosaur or a human, this parental message clearly radiates “I’ve loved you from the start.”
The cover’s glowing golden stars are but a small hint of the parent-child love inside.
In this companion book to the creators’ I Love You, My Little Unicorn (2022), a world full of digitally created dinosaurs illustrated in eye-catching colors dominates the pages. From the start, it’s clear that dinosaur parents have the same hopes and dreams for their offspring that human parents do. Readers don’t have to be dinosaur fans to smile when the parent-and-child dinosaur pairs playfully interact and share loving glances. Take special note of the ankylosauruses, whose tails arc to form a heart beneath a sky filled with heart-shaped clouds. The text in verse shares words of unconditional parental love and support and wisdom (“please remember all these things / that I want you to know”), appropriate for humans and dinos alike. “Roar with all your might!” “Spread your wings and fly.” “Use your voice, and ask for help.” There’s even a caveat that some “days will be dark / and other shades of gray.” But “there’s always brightness up ahead.” While the loving sentiments in the storytelling are clear, words are sometimes inverted to make the rhyme work, and the verse doesn’t always follow a consistent meter, but prereading will let the story shine during quiet snuggle times.
Whether spoken by a dinosaur or a human, this parental message clearly radiates “I’ve loved you from the start.” (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781728268361
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
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