Given Splat’s popularity and the potential of a haunted house, this lackluster effort is a real disappointment.
Only the most avid fans of Splat the Cat will cheer for this lift-the-flap Halloween story.
Cats Splat and Spike and their mouse friend, Seymour, have finished trick-or-treating except for one last house. Splat thinks it looks too scary, and Spike may have agreed, but Seymour runs right up to the seemingly haunted place. Every page of this book except for the first has a flap that opens either right, left, up or down. Such interactive features usually add an entertaining, interactive element to a story. Unfortunately, these flaps seem arbitrary rather than carefully planned to present a surprise; they are also not easily designed for young hands to intuitively manipulate. The story, though slim, consists of the two cats’ search for Seymour. As they go through the house, ghosts flit about, a spider casts a menacing shadow on the wall, and they come to a secret room full of vampire ducks. Odd sounds that gurgle, grumble, groan and “ker-klunk” add to the creepy gloom and grow increasingly louder. The reveal, however, is as anticlimactic as the flaps.
Given Splat’s popularity and the potential of a haunted house, this lackluster effort is a real disappointment. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-197863-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HarperFestival
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
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
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree.
A Christmas edition of the beloved alphabet book.
The story starts off nearly identically to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989), written by John Archambault and the late Bill Martin Jr, with the letters A, B, and C deciding to meet in the branches of a tree. This time, they’re attempting to scale a Christmas tree, not a coconut tree, and the letters are strung together like garland. A, B, and C are joined by the other letters, and of course they all “slip, slop, topple, plop!” right down the tree. At the bottom, they discover an assortment of gifts, all in a variety of shapes. As a team, the letters and presents organize themselves to get back up on the Christmas tree and get a star to the top. Holiday iterations of favorite tales often fall flat, but this take succeeds. The gifts are an easy way to reinforce another preschool concept—shapes—and the text uses just enough of the original to be familiar. The rhyming works, sticking to the cadence of the source material. The illustrations pay homage to the late Lois Ehlert’s, featuring the same bold block letters, though they lack some of the whimsy and personality of the original. Otherwise, everything is similarly brightly colored and simply drawn. Those familiar with the classic will be drawn to this one, but newcomers can enjoy it on its own.
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665954761
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
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