A fine friendship fable with a funny close.
Bush Baby’s just having no luck finding a friend.
Lonely Bush Baby sets out to find an animal friend. When they appeal to Giraffe, the response is, “No way.…You’re much too small. I can hardly see you down there.” Toad doesn’t like the fact that Bush Baby has a tail (Toad’s vanished long ago). Zebra somehow resists Bush Baby’s imploring eyes and says, “I can’t be seen with you. You have no stripes.” Snake thinks Bush Baby has far too many legs. And Flamingo’s just rude about Bush Baby’s not being pink. Just when despair takes hold and Bush Baby’s sure they will always be alone, they meet Lion. Lion is impressed that Bush Baby is talking to him. He reveals he has no friends either: “Everyone thinks I might eat them for some reason.” Bush Baby is certain Lion won’t want to be their friend, but Lion thinks they look just right. The new friends go for a romp. After hearing Lion won’t eat friends, the other animals come for friendship…and Lion’s very loud answer will elicit giggles. Ayto’s bright backgrounds and slightly scribbly cartoon animals are a perfect match for his simple story about judging by appearances and valuing differences. Young listeners will be charmed by Bush Baby’s big, sad eyes (even if they don’t recognize the primate), and many will identify with their search for companionship.
A fine friendship fable with a funny close. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-72843-893-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Andersen Press USA
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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