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KAMIK'S FIRST SLED

An exciting tale of boy-and-puppy bonding for Inuit children, this story is also accessible to non-Inuit readers willing to...

This Canadian import recounts a winter afternoon of an Inuit boy named Jake and his sled dog puppy, Kamik.

A companion to Kamik: An Inuit Puppy Story, by Donald Uluadluak and illustrated by Leng (2013), this story is based on the recollections of Sulurayok, an Inuit elder from Nunavut. In the book, Jake and his puppy are staying with his grandmother in her house. She encourages Jake in his training of Kamik and sends the pair out onto the snowy tundra to practice with a simple sealskin sled. The fairly lengthy story describes their training session and their trip back home during a sudden blizzard. Soft-focus watercolor-and-pencil illustrations capture the antics of the dog and his young master as well as the drama of the ride through the swirling blizzard. The story places readers directly into the setting and the plot, with no concessions to non-Inuit audiences, such as a map, glossary, or pronunciation guide. A few words are not defined by context, such as bannock (a type of bread) and Inuktitut (an Inuit language), and other words are difficult for non-native speakers to pronounce without guidance, such as the grandmother’s name, Anaanatsiaq, and Tuhaaji, the dog’s Inuktitut name.

An exciting tale of boy-and-puppy bonding for Inuit children, this story is also accessible to non-Inuit readers willing to meet Kamik and Jake out on the tundra. (Picture book. 4-9)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-7722-7020-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Inhabit Media

Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2015

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DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE SLEIGH!

A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.

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Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.

This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”

A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023

ISBN: 9781454952770

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Union Square Kids

Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023

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PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among

Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.

If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018

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