A natural for storytime, this humorous tale elevates the beauty of many perspectives.
What if a mountain is more than the sum of its parts?
Six animals compete to arrive at the most accurate description of the towering mountain above them. Each animal’s answer is rooted in the familiar and beloved. For the bear, the mountain must be forested and green. The octopus feels sure it’s wet, watery, fishy, and colorful. But the chamois (a European goat-antelope) is certain of the mountain’s rocky terrain. The sheep, the ant, and the snow hare also chime in with their unique alpine visions. Even though none of the animals has actually been to the mountain, each believes their answer to be correct. Then the shouting begins. Finally, an exasperated bird urges them all to the pinnacle of the mountain to decide their claims. When they reach the summit (the octopus in a diving helmet full of water), the animals realize that the answer was “quite simple” all along. The brevity of the text, generous trim size, and equally large type make this book a great choice for storytime. Created in tandem by Gugger and Röthlisberger, this original fable translated from German explores the concept of the coexistence of many truths. Humor is conveyed through the brief, dialogue-heavy text, while washes of color draw the eye along crisp white pages, with body language and energy conveyed through penciled movement lines. Wordless double-page spreads showing each animal’s imagined mountainous setting are especially stunning.
A natural for storytime, this humorous tale elevates the beauty of many perspectives. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4457-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
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
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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