An affectionate, expressive depiction of a Jewish family celebration.
Come celebrate Purim with Ruby and her family.
Ruby, her little brother, Benny, her father, and her grandmother have fun making hamantaschen in several delicious flavors to share with relatives. Bubbe helps Benny make a grogger, a Purim noisemaker. Then Ruby discovers that her very special ruby ring, a Hanukkah gift from Bubbe, is missing, and thorough searches by Dad and other relatives, who have arrived to celebrate, come up empty. Through it all, Benny shouts, “Grogger!” and shakes his noisemaker, irritating an already upset Ruby. But it’s time to go to the synagogue for the reading of the megillah. Ruby dresses as Queen Esther, Benny is a lion, and the cousins are all in costumes as well. Groggers are shaken at every mention of Haman’s name, with boos thrown in for good measure. Ruby participates, but her heart isn’t in it, for the ring is very much on her mind. Finally, the ring is found—as it turns out, the clues to its location have been there all along. Ruby, Benny, their father, and most other family members are dark-haired and tan-skinned; one cousin is slightly darker-skinned. Gehl tells the story simply, with emphasis on the loving interactions of the extended family and their joy in the Jewish traditions of Purim; brightly hued illustrations bring to life Ruby’s sadness, frustration, and, finally, relief. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An affectionate, expressive depiction of a Jewish family celebration. (a note about Purim, instructions on making a grogger) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9780807571804
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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