Despite some vagueness and inconsistency, this visual treat could be surprisingly successful for self-soothing.
Feelings link with colors in conjunction with meditation techniques.
Children are enjoying a meadow. They’re chasing butterflies, examining ladybugs, eating ice cream, feeling the breeze, reclining on the grass. The racially diverse kids seem simultaneously peaceful and energized. Chopra connects physical sensations with emotions: “Have you ever felt butterflies in your stomach when you are scared…?” (The notion that butterflies might also indicate excitement is missing, though tingling hands could be such an indicator.) Asserting that “when you know how your body reacts to your feelings, you can control your reactions and feel powerful,” the text assigns a color for each feeling and a suggestion for control. Breath awareness is yellow. Red wafts through the scene about groundedness: “Feel your bottom resting under you. Do you feel how the chair or floor is strong and stable?” Readers who don't know their chakras may find some surprises. Coding safety as red is nonstandard in the U.S. (doesn’t red signal danger or stop?), as is, arguably, coding the heart-based feelings of happiness and sadness as green; these striking hue associations could be difficult to jump into—or they could be the hook. There’s some murkiness and irregularity in the connections among metaphor, physical sensations, and emotional feelings. However, Burton’s illustrations of swirling colors, keen-edged characters, just enough rainbows, and gently enchanting backgrounds—bananas and pie float through yellow’s “I am strong” spread—really do bring a sense of wonder and power.
Despite some vagueness and inconsistency, this visual treat could be surprisingly successful for self-soothing. (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: July 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7624-9904-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Extraordinary introductory terror, beautiful to the eye and sure to delight younger horror enthusiasts.
What terrors lurk within your mouth? Jasper Rabbit knows.
“You have stumbled your way into the unknown.” The young bunny introduced in Reynolds and Brown’s Caldecott Honor–winning picture book, Creepy Carrots (2012), takes up Rod Serling’s mantle, and the fit is perfect. Mimicking an episode of The Twilight Zone, the book follows Charlie Marmot, an average kid with a penchant for the strange and unusual. He’s pleased when his tonsils become infected; maybe once they’re out he can take them to school for show and tell! That’s when bizarre things start to happen: Noises in the night. Slimy trails on his bedroom floor. And when Charlie goes in for his surgery, he’s told that the tonsils have disappeared from his throat; clearly something sinister is afoot. Those not yet ready for Goosebumps levels of horror will find this a welcome starter pack. Reynolds has perfected the tension he employed in his Creepy Tales! series, and partner in crime Brown imbues each illustration with both humor and a delicate undercurrent of dark foreshadowing. While the fleshy pink tonsils—the sole spot of color in this black-and-white world—aren’t outrageously gross, there’s something distinctly disgusting about them. And though the book stars cute, furry woodland creatures, the spooky surprise ending is 100% otherworldly—a marvelous moment of twisted logic.
Extraordinary introductory terror, beautiful to the eye and sure to delight younger horror enthusiasts. (Early chapter book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781665961080
Page Count: 88
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
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