A welcome addition to the emotional-literacy shelf.
Little Worrysaurus has a big day planned, but will his fears get in the way of his perfect picnic?
After going through his morning routine, Worrysaurus packs up for the day and heads out into the world with nothing but blue skies and his planned picnic on his mind. However, it doesn’t take long for worry and doubt to start to set in. Did he bring enough food? Enough to drink? When he runs across a lizard who is sure it is going to rain, a “little worry butterfly” begins to flutter in Worrysaurus’ stomach. He’s not prepared for rain. As the worry butterfly flaps harder, he remembers something his mommy told him: “Don’t you worry now, my lovely, / you MUST try not to fret. / If it’s not a happy ending, / then it hasn’t ended yet.” Feeling better, Worrysaurus goes through his bag of “happy things” and is able to enjoy the rest of his day. This sweet title will help little human worrysauruses feel as though they are not alone, and it also offers coping tools for when fear and doubt start to take over. Chatterton’s illustrations depict an unthreatening pink theropod with an oversized head (and rather distractingly large nostrils) and effectively convey emotion through color: Happy moments are rendered in bright colors while fearful ones have darker spreads. Easy rhymes with good meter make this fun to read aloud. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 36% of actual size.)
A welcome addition to the emotional-literacy shelf. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-63408-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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