A heartwarming story celebrating friendship across cultural lines.
A Jewish Mexican boy makes new friends through cultural communion.
Danielito loves Janucá (Hanukkah), and tonight, he and his Bobe will light the first candles. Danielito doesn’t know any of the kids in his grandmother’s neighborhood, but when he sees them playing trompos (tops) in the street, he asks Bobe if she has one. “No,” she tells him. “But I have a dreidel!” The local kids let Danielito join in, and when his dreidel is the last top spinning, something magical happens. Each fallen trompo the dreidel touches starts spinning again, and soon the dreidel is leading the trompos and the kids all through the town. When the tops finally stop, the kids invite Danielito to play with them the next day, and he invites them to celebrate Janucá. Together, they light the candles, enjoy latkes and buñuelos, and play dreidel. This friendship tale celebrates the Jewish diaspora in Mexico and the blending of cultural traditions it has occasioned. Spanish and hispanophone transliterations of Yiddish words are integrated into the text, the former usually paired with in-text English translations, the latter explained in the authors’ note. Mola’s illustrations feature rich colors and textures that vividly bring the Mexican town and characters to life. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A heartwarming story celebrating friendship across cultural lines. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9781728449289
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: Aug. 12, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers.
The bestselling series (How to Catch an Elf, 2016, etc.) about capturing mythical creatures continues with a story about various ways to catch the Easter Bunny as it makes its annual deliveries.
The bunny narrates its own story in rhyming text, beginning with an introduction at its office in a manufacturing facility that creates Easter eggs and candy. The rabbit then abruptly takes off on its delivery route with a tiny basket of eggs strapped to its back, immediately encountering a trap with carrots and a box propped up with a stick. The narrative focuses on how the Easter Bunny avoids increasingly complex traps set up to catch him with no explanation as to who has set the traps or why. These traps include an underground tunnel, a fluorescent dance floor with a hidden pit of carrots, a robot bunny, pirates on an island, and a cannon that shoots candy fish, as well as some sort of locked, hazardous site with radiation danger. Readers of previous books in the series will understand the premise, but others will be confused by the rabbit’s frenetic escapades. Cartoon-style illustrations have a 1960s vibe, with a slightly scary, bow-tied bunny with chartreuse eyes and a glowing palette of neon shades that shout for attention.
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3817-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
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A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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