The Unlimited Squirrels series finds its footing in the identifiable.
Crank the irritation level up to HIGH as the latest Unlimited Squirrels offering explores a quintessential childhood feeling.
Frustration has its day, and in many different forms. Willems has always used his Unlimited Squirrels as a way to deliver easy-reader sketch-comedy segments à la Laugh-In or Hee-Haw. Running gags pop up periodically, like Happy Squirrel’s repeatedly thwarted attempts to say something only to be repeatedly stopped by the stage manager. There are the customary groan-inducing “It’s Acorn-y Joke Time” gags. And there are the longer sections, like a legitimately amusing storyline involving Zoom Squirrel discovering new emotions. Research Rodent is on hand, asking the squirrels how they deal with frustrations; their helpful responses include taking deep breaths, solving problems new ways, and counting lucky stars. Whether kids will retain these lessons is by no means a given, but they provide a nice breather (no pun intended) between the jokes. Little wonder that this book is one of the more enjoyable outings with the Willems squirrels. After all, the author did make his name with a pigeon book that leaned heavily on that very same emotion. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
The Unlimited Squirrels series finds its footing in the identifiable. (Easy reader. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-368-07482-7
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
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