A SHHHpecial treat for children who prefer to play it…soft.
Snail finds that it’s hard to be a party animal when any loud noises send him retreating into his shell.
Snail enjoys the quieter parts of parties, like the confetti and whispering wishes over a cake—but when things turn rowdy, he has to hide. The other animals don’t understand his conviction that “quiet is just as fun as loud,” and soon even Stump, the nearby tree stump, is getting more party invitations that he is. Rather than throw a pity party, Snail decides to organize a “SHHHelebration” with warm milk (“Mmm, a hug in a mug!”), lip-synching to lullabies, and a cozy “blanket burrito.” There’s something missing though…until Stump turns crasher: “Stump! You’re here!” “Well, I’m always here since I’m rooted in the ground, but your SHHHindig is filled with all my favorite things!” Cue the low-volume lollapalooza, ending with a snuggle beneath the stars as the two pull a wild all-nighter “in their hearts.” Collier adds droll details aplenty, from a worm doing the limbo while a bear shakes its booty in early festive scenes to Snail and Stump both clad in onesies, exuberantly waving streamers before piling up the pillows. Like Maureen Gaspari’s I Don’t Like Birthday Parties (2021), this is tailor-made for younger party lovers with a low tolerance for high decibels. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A SHHHpecial treat for children who prefer to play it…soft. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-77147-417-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...
Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
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