Offers a few laughs but not likely to become a storytime favorite.
A ghost sets out to design the perfect house for his family.
Their old house (an Addams Family–style mansion) having been condemned, the ghosts must relocate. Hard-hatted Leonard takes charge. The family finds a plot in an idyllic, leafy suburb. A contractor and a supplier are visibly uneasy with specter clients but take their money nonetheless. Leonard knows his way around a construction site, but at every step, family members object. The house isn’t haunted enough! It isn’t dank or dark! Where are the “creaks and leaks”? What about the cobwebs? Laconic Leonard is undeterred. Once the home is finished, it looks perfectly ordinary. Soon neighbors and a dog (last seen lifting a leg on the For Sale sign) arrive with a welcome balloon and brownies. As the ghosts peek out, the terrified humans flee, and the ghosts grab the goodies. Pleasant, precise cartoon-type art features realistic colors and depicts the phantoms as white blobs with arms, differentiated by accessories such as a bow tie, hair ribbon, or propeller cap. The puns might tickle adult readers, and the odd sight gag may elicit a chuckle here and there. Overall, though, it’s a lengthy buildup to a rather underwhelming punchline. Construction fans will go for the building parts, and the ghosts are admittedly quite endearing, but most readers will be disappointed. Human characters are diverse.
Offers a few laughs but not likely to become a storytime favorite. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 8, 2025
ISBN: 9780374392444
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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