A sure bet for a kid-tested, puppy-approved storytime.
Actor and author Witherspoon’s Busy Betty is back for another rollicking adventure.
Betty, a light-skinned child with enormous purple glasses and bouncy blond pigtails, always has “a MILLION questions and a BILLION ideas.” Betty’s latest idea is a big birthday surprise for Mom. To that end, Betty has enlisted best friends Mae (tan-skinned with dark hair) and Jeffrey (dark-skinned with soft locs) to help. First they list the things Betty’s mom likes. Then, exclaiming “Sweet cinnamon biscuits!” Betty lands on the idea of building a “humongous, tremendous, stupendous” backyard circus, starring the friends as clowns. The trio need costumes, makeup, a trapeze, a big tent, and most of all…a lion to tame—in the form of Betty’s dog, Frank, who is none too keen. Unfortunately, it turns out that Mom’s birthday isn’t until next month, but Betty knows just how to fix the situation. Witherspoon’s jaunty, vivid text and Yan’s pastel palette and exaggerated design effectively convey Betty’s energy and spontaneity, keeping readers on the edge of their seats with each dramatic page turn. The author and illustrator have created another familiar and easily resolved tale, likely setting the stage for an ongoing series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A sure bet for a kid-tested, puppy-approved storytime. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9780593525128
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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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