Nuanced and touching.
An anthropomorphized, multigenerational rodent family experiences highs and lows over the course of a year.
“When this story ends, it will begin again. That’s how it works.” Readers initially drawn to the book’s cute and quirky comic aesthetic might be surprised by the unexpected poignancy of this tale, translated from Spanish. Directly and affably addressing the audience, the story's narrator invites young people to reflect on cyclicality, special events that punctuate each season, and the way small changes can add up to big transformations. Starting with winter, each season transitions into the next, accompanied by wryly humorous descriptions of the shifting weather. Sure, spring means that “butterflies and bees will start partying all day long,” but it also brings “sneezes of all kinds.” Mice with delightfully oversize ears participate in seasonal activities such as building a “yeti out of snow,” attending a rustic, energetically illustrated fall festival, and indulging in a “voracious and inexplicable need for…ice cream!” Brief, relatable moments sprinkled throughout—such as an exasperated mother fitting a “too itchy” sweater on a reluctant child or a terrifying but triumphant leap into the pool—will inspire nods of solidarity. Big changes, including Mom’s progressing pregnancy, reiterate the book’s theme: By year’s end, “some things will be different….That’s just how it works.” The offbeat animals, outlined in dark ink and digitally colored in muted tones, brim with personality and charm. Publishes simultaneously in Spanish.
Nuanced and touching. (Picture book. 4-10)Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781778402425
Page Count: 52
Publisher: Greystone Kids
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
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
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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
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