This memorable interpretation will appeal to collectors of pop-up books and Christmas stories and to Christian families who...
The renowned paper engineer offers a retelling of the Nativity story.
The appealing cover is done in metallic lavender-blue with Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus in white silhouette, adorned with gold haloes. This visual theme—midrange pastel shades as background, white figures, and gold highlights—carries through the entire volume, providing a refreshing palette for a Christmas story. Each of the six pop-up scenes is astonishing in complexity and breathtaking to behold. The first scene is the Annunciation, the second shows Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem, and the third is the stable and the manger with baby Jesus. Following scenes show the shepherds and their sheep and then the wise men following the star, with the last scene showing all the characters at the stable and an angel floating overhead. The angels are particularly beautiful, arranged so they appear to be flying as the spread is opened. The white paper used for the moving parts is quite sturdy, and the scenes fold back together fairly easily, so this book will last if handled carefully. Each scene is accompanied by a paragraph of well-written summary that’s carefully integrated into the backgrounds, making the text a natural partner to the exquisite art.
This memorable interpretation will appeal to collectors of pop-up books and Christmas stories and to Christian families who would like a special version of the Nativity story to share on Christmas Eve. (Pop-up picture book/religion. 4 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-8326-9
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2016
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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