A humorous reminder that all we really need is already within us.
The Alpactory helps critters setting out on new adventures decide just what they need to take with them.
A snake named Ralph worries about packing all the wrong things for a sleepover. A penguin named Marley fears a pencil shortage on the first day of school. And a guinea pig named Cora has “just too much stuff to pack” for an upcoming camping trip. Enter the Alpactory, an alpaca-operated business designed to provide “packing and preparation services for all experiences.” Alpaca Nigel welcomes Ralph, Marley, and Cora to the Alpactory, promising them its workers know “just what you’ll need, guaranteed!” Inside the facility, teams of alpacas select and pack all the right things, including books to prevent loneliness, flashlights to ward off the dark, familiar items to prevent homesickness, clothing for all weather, and even snacks and toys. Unfortunately, Ralph, Marley, and Cora can’t budge their now completely overstuffed suitcases and backpacks, prompting them to reassess what they really need for their new adventures. Humorous, bustling, colorful cartoon illustrations rendered in neat black outlines brim with bevies of wide-eyed, energetic alpacas and fascinating machines selecting, testing, and packing an array of “stuff” on endless conveyors and long assembly lines. Like Ralph, Marley, and Cora, readers should find their Alpactory visit an entertaining one.
A humorous reminder that all we really need is already within us. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-290951-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
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
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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