MY PEN PAL, SANTA

Name: MY PEN PAL, SANTA
Author: Melissa Stanton
ISBN: 978-0-375-86992-1

by Melissa Stanton ; illustrated by Jennifer A. Bell ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 24, 2013

The letter format has become popular as a textual structure in picture books, but this collection of missives misses the...

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A little girl named Ava corresponds with Santa by mail for an entire year; their monthly letters make up the text of this mildly amusing holiday story.

The letters begin in January with Ava’s thank-you letter for her Christmas presents and continue with a pair of letters for each month through the following Christmas Eve. Ava asks Santa lots of questions in her letters, shown on the left-hand pages with scenes from Ava’s world. Santa’s patient letters answering all of Ava’s questions are shown on facing right-hand pages with accompanying views of life at the North Pole. Cheerful illustrations in a loose, comfortable style add considerable appeal to the story, but Ava’s letters don’t always seem child-written, and Santa’s letters are sometimes expository lists lacking humor. The little girl’s letters include several questions about whether Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy are real and whether “presents come from our parents.” Santa always manages reasonable explanations in his responses, but the questions are ones adult readers might wish to avoid altogether in a children’s book about Santa. The conclusion is the best part of the book, with Ava’s single Christmas request, to meet Santa, satisfied on the final, wordless page.

The letter format has become popular as a textual structure in picture books, but this collection of missives misses the mark. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2013

ISBN: 978-0-375-86992-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2013

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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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)