A high-interest and refreshing take on a traditionally creepy creature.
On Halloween, a group of friends learns that skeletons aren’t really that spooky after all.
Turning the skeleton’s creepy reputation on its head, Evans exposes the truth: “Old bones can’t hurt you, right?” Three trick-or-treating friends find out that skeletons really aren’t as strong, smart, or brave as humans thanks to their lack of muscles, brains, and guts. Though they initially flee the green skeleton that emerges as they munch candy, the kids end up including the skeleton in their treat-eating treehouse fun. Evans’ rhythmic quatrains maintain a steady cadence and work in a rhyme involving smelly boots and toots that’s sure to entertain little readers. Dreiling’s illustrations make excellent use of shades of gray, the color applied to the background trees, fencing, landscape, and sky. This also helps capture the Halloween mood. The children, two with brown skin and one who’s pale, are the focal point of all of the colors. Gold and red are standout features of their hair and costumes and contrast nicely with the gray tones of the background. Observant readers will notice how Dreiling contributes visual subtext apart from the narration, as with one child’s lost shoe that can be tracked across pages on its way back to the owner. The book nicely demonstrates how something fearful can seem much less so when reduced to its parts, a comforting message for little readers.
A high-interest and refreshing take on a traditionally creepy creature. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64567-215-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers.
The bestselling series (How to Catch an Elf, 2016, etc.) about capturing mythical creatures continues with a story about various ways to catch the Easter Bunny as it makes its annual deliveries.
The bunny narrates its own story in rhyming text, beginning with an introduction at its office in a manufacturing facility that creates Easter eggs and candy. The rabbit then abruptly takes off on its delivery route with a tiny basket of eggs strapped to its back, immediately encountering a trap with carrots and a box propped up with a stick. The narrative focuses on how the Easter Bunny avoids increasingly complex traps set up to catch him with no explanation as to who has set the traps or why. These traps include an underground tunnel, a fluorescent dance floor with a hidden pit of carrots, a robot bunny, pirates on an island, and a cannon that shoots candy fish, as well as some sort of locked, hazardous site with radiation danger. Readers of previous books in the series will understand the premise, but others will be confused by the rabbit’s frenetic escapades. Cartoon-style illustrations have a 1960s vibe, with a slightly scary, bow-tied bunny with chartreuse eyes and a glowing palette of neon shades that shout for attention.
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3817-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A predictable series entry, mitigated as usual by the protagonists’ perennially energetic positivity.
A holiday-centered spinoff from the duo behind the inspired The Day the Crayons Quit (2013).
With Green Crayon on vacation, how can the waxy ones pull off a colorful St. Patrick’s Day celebration with Duncan, their (unseen) owner? Through their signature combo of cooperation and unwavering enthusiasm, of course. Blue and Yellow collaborate on a field of shamrocks that blends—however spottily—into green. Nearly invisible White Crayon supplies an otherwise unclothed light-skinned leprechaun with undies, and Orange draws a pair of pants that match the wee creature’s iconic beard and hair. Pink applies colors to a vest, and Purple, a natty jacket and boots. Chunky Toddler Crayon contributes a “perfect” scribbly blue hat; Beige and Brown team up for the leprechaun’s harp. In arguably the best bit, Black exuberantly manifests a decidedly unvariegated rainbow, while Gold’s pot of coins is right on the money, hue-wise. Their ardor undimmed by the holiday’s missing customary color, everyone assembles to party. Though the repartee among the crayons isn’t as developed as in previous outings, the book hews close to Daywalt and Jeffers’ winning formula, and there’s still enough here to keep readers chuckling. And, in a droll “wait for it” moment nicely calibrated for storytime, Green returns from vacation, sunglasses and suitcase in hand: “Did I miss anything while I was gone?” (The cover illustrations do hint at some Green-inflected remediation.)
A predictable series entry, mitigated as usual by the protagonists’ perennially energetic positivity. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780593624333
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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