Anya isn’t the only kid who worries about being different on the first day; no matter how unique, though, readers are sure...
Anya doesn’t seem at all worried that it’s the start of a new school year, but the tiger tail she’s sprouted overnight is a huge cause for concern.
Her mom and dad just don’t understand her anxiety about it. Mom says “It brings out your fun, wild side,” and dad compares it to when he first got glasses. Obviously, she’ll have to find her own solution. But the tail will not come off and can’t be hidden. Her mother’s comments only serve to give Anya more ideas, but mom doesn’t buy that she’s sick, and dad sees missing the bus as a bonding opportunity. Just as she’s imagining a circus career, a boy with his nose stuck in a book bumps into her; this dislodges his baseball cap, which is hiding a pair of rabbit ears. And the class picture on the final spread reveals that a tiger tail isn’t so bad. In Boldt’s digital illustrations, Anya appears to be white and has a mane of reddish curls (the tail really does complement them nicely) that perfectly matches her freaked-out demeanor, and her facial expressions are masterful. Her classmates are diverse in every way and include a girl in a wheelchair, a kid wearing headphones, a boy sporting glasses, and a male teacher of color.
Anya isn’t the only kid who worries about being different on the first day; no matter how unique, though, readers are sure to find a niche to call their own. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-4885-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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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