Serve this sweet friendship story with a fresh cookie and a glass of milk.
Little Mousey bravely defends his best friend’s cookie from a host of hungry creatures.
Best friends Sam (a boy) and Mousey (a mouse) love playing together. One day, Sam convinces Mousey to fly a kite with him and then surprises his friend with a giant chocolate-chip cookie. When Sam has to run to the toilet, he tells Mousey, “Watch the cookie. I’ll be right back.” This is no easy feat for a little mouse, especially as two threatening pigeons start pecking at Sam’s cookie. Mousey dons the red napkin like a superhero cape, empowering him to save the day by shouting, “Stop! That’s Sam’s cookie!” Young readers will cheer on the little mouse as he tries to keep his friend’s cookie safe—little kids will understand “[t]hat’s just what best friends do.” Cote uses simple, straightforward text to keep the story rolling along at a brisk pace. Her cheerful illustrations are full of kid appeal, with expressive, cartoonish characters. There is a bit of inconsistency in the number of chocolate chips in the titular cookie: It gradually loses chocolate chips as it bumps through its travails, but suddenly the chips reappear just as the cat is going to eat Mousey.
Serve this sweet friendship story with a fresh cookie and a glass of milk. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-62914630-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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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