A fun experiment but not an entirely successful one.
A group of precocious experimenters demonstrates a tongue-in-cheek science hypothesis that has been popularized on the internet.
Very brief rhyming text fancifully describes the actions of a number of smiling, stylized cats “Cats fill…spill…tip…drip…slop [and] plop.” In sum, “cats are a liquid except when they’re not.” This appears twice as a refrain and then shifts to “A cat’s not a liquid except when it is.” Cartoony illustrations, created in Adobe Photoshop, feature a host of children in white lab coats busily measuring, chasing, cuddling, cleaning up after, and otherwise interacting with a plethora of cats and kittens. Diversity is implied via varied skin tones and clothing choices (one girl wears hijab). Limited background details keep the focus on the cute cats; black outlines and a subdued palette give the pictures an amusingly retro feel. Although the author provides a brief explanation and a citation for the paper that helped to inspire this STEM-oriented picture book, the joke (and the science behind it) may be beyond the grasp of much of the intended audience. The childlike feel of the pictures and rhythmic brevity of the text, on the other hand, may turn off older listeners. A foray into weather comparisons (“Cats are clouds in the atmosphere. Evaporate. Precipitate”) only adds to the confusion. An included activity, making “oobleck,” further explores the qualities of liquids and solids.
A fun experiment but not an entirely successful one. (author’s note, bibliography) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-20659-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Godwin Books
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
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
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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