A reminder that the best part of the holiday season isn’t getting, but giving.
A philanthropic family visits New York City and helps many local residents in DeLand’s (Baby Santa and the Missing Reindeer, 2013, etc.) latest children’s-book installment.
What place is more exciting for a family than the Big Apple at Christmastime? When the Bond family decides to visit the city for the holiday, they have more in mind than just seeing the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and taking in a show at Radio City Music Hall (although they do those things, too). Accompanied by Baby Santa, a young version of Santa Claus, the Bonds visit a local soup kitchen to help feed those who are short on food, and “everyone is thankful of this good deed.” They go to a children’s hospital to pass out toys to children, bring treats and puppy food to a local animal rescue, and sing Christmas carols at a senior center. However, there’s also room for a little fun, and the family and Baby Santa have a few classic New York moments—marveling at a museum’s exhibits, remarking on the supreme architecture of Grand Central Station, and staying at the St. Regis Hotel. At the end, the family is satisfied, body and soul, by their memorable journey. DeLand’s work is, in a word, charming. In this book, which is sure to become a seasonal favorite, the author perfectly outlines what the holiday season is all about in a way that even young children will understand. After all, what good is receiving nice things if one doesn’t know what it feels like to give them? DeLand also makes clear that life doesn’t have to be all fun or all work: the Bonds “make a family happy” by helping to build a Habitat for Humanity–style home for them, but they also take in a ballet, watching “dancers twirl and soldiers march.” Illustrator Wilson’s images are bright and engaging, driving the plot forward while also providing a glimpse of how magical New York is during the holidays. This book is the perfect antidote to the commercial frenzy of Christmas, and children and adults will enjoy reading it together.
A reminder that the best part of the holiday season isn’t getting, but giving.Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2014
ISBN: 978-1626340862
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
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It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property.
Since a reformed Grinch is hardly any fun, this follow-up Grinches him up once more.
Those seeking more of the same, prepare to receive precisely that. Christmas is coming (again!), and the Grinch can hardly wait. He’s been patient all year, and now he can finally show the Whos down in Who-ville how much he’s changed. When the Grinch learns of a tree-decorating contest, he figures that if he wins, it’ll prove he truly has the Christmas spirit. He throws himself into the task, but when it comes time to judge the trees, the Grinch is horrified to discover that he’s received only the second-place trophy. Can Cindy-Lou Who find the words to save the day? Replicating many of the original beats and wordplay of the original, this tale feels like less a sequel and more like a vaguely rewritten variation. Meanwhile, Ruiz’s art seeks to bridge the gap between the animated Chuck Jones version of the Grinch and the one depicted in the original book. This thankless task results in a strange uncanny valley between Seuss and Jones but does allow the artist a chance to colorize everything and lend some racial diversity to the Who population (Cindy-Lou is light-skinned). (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9780593563168
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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