This Chanukah offering from Rosen (Elijah’s Angel, 1992, etc.) attempts to find metaphoric comparison for the lights of the Chanukah menorah. But while Angel soars, Lights falls flat. The metaphors are forced, the language stilted, and Iwai’s (Night Shift Daddy, 2000, etc.) illustrations, while colorful and appealing, are flawed. On the first night of Chanukah the moon is like a flame. On the second night two headlights from grandpa’s car resemble the Chanukah lights, defying the laws of parallel parking as well as the laws of physics by shining directly into the living room of the family’s brownstone walk-up. On the third night, cousins come to visit and the young narrator switches on the lamps outside, “and suddenly there are three more lights, like in our menorah!” On the fifth night, five silver dollars shine like lights. By the seventh night, the family finds a Chanukah analogy in the seven bulbs burning in the windows of a Christian friend. Dad declares that “Chanukah is also about the joy of different religions sharing a street.” So far, the story has revealed little about the meaning of Chanukah. Iwai’s illustration for this spread shows a suburban neighborhood, despite already having depicted the family’s street in the heart of a neighborhood that looks a lot like Brooklyn. A note following the text explains the origins of the holiday. Disappointing. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-15-202447-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Gulliver/Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2001
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree.
A Christmas edition of the beloved alphabet book.
The story starts off nearly identically to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989), written by John Archambault and the late Bill Martin Jr, with the letters A, B, and C deciding to meet in the branches of a tree. This time, they’re attempting to scale a Christmas tree, not a coconut tree, and the letters are strung together like garland. A, B, and C are joined by the other letters, and of course they all “slip, slop, topple, plop!” right down the tree. At the bottom, they discover an assortment of gifts, all in a variety of shapes. As a team, the letters and presents organize themselves to get back up on the Christmas tree and get a star to the top. Holiday iterations of favorite tales often fall flat, but this take succeeds. The gifts are an easy way to reinforce another preschool concept—shapes—and the text uses just enough of the original to be familiar. The rhyming works, sticking to the cadence of the source material. The illustrations pay homage to the late Lois Ehlert’s, featuring the same bold block letters, though they lack some of the whimsy and personality of the original. Otherwise, everything is similarly brightly colored and simply drawn. Those familiar with the classic will be drawn to this one, but newcomers can enjoy it on its own.
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665954761
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
This charming, colorful counting tale of ten little fish runs full-circle. Although the light verse opens and closes with ten fish swimming in a line, page-by-page the line grows shorter as the number of fish diminishes one-by-one. One fish dives down, one gets lost, one hides, and another takes a nap until a single fish remains. Then along comes another fish to form a couple and suddenly a new family of little fish emerges to begin all over. Slick, digitally-created images of brilliant marine flora and fauna give an illusion of underwater depth and silence enhancing the verse’s numerical and theatrical progression. The holistic story bubbles with life’s endless cycle. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-439-63569-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Blue Sky/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2004
BOOK REVIEW
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