A muddled and not particularly pleasant tale of a day at the beach.
Taffy Saltwater and her friends set out to build the most spectacular sand castle ever.
When Taffy and her animated stuffed bunny, Rigby Rabbit, and two-legged beach ball, Rollo, arrive at the beach, they are greeted by the sights, sounds and crowds of the boardwalk. When the wind blows Rollo and the beach umbrella far away, Taffy and an ever-growing posse ride the enormous, animate blow-up toy, Bob the Sea Monster, far away from the crowds to where Rollo has come to rest. When this gaudy troupe—which includes Mr. Footer the Hot Dog Man, Edna the Lemon-Ice Lady and Chris the Lifeguard—makes it to the unpopulated beach, they finally build their castle, and it’s a beauty. On each page, three little human boys watch all the action, finally hopping on the blow-up monster and helping with the eventual castle building. No explanation is given for their presence, leaving readers to wonder who they are and why they join Taffy. The absence of caregiving adults also strikes an odd chord. Occasionally, some of the words in the text are printed in oversized font, but there is no apparent rhyme or reason to this. Supersaturated colors and a cartoonish style add to the fantastical elements of the story and make the bustle of the boardwalk even busier—and a bit more sinister—than life.
A muddled and not particularly pleasant tale of a day at the beach. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-307-97892-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2013
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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