A pun-filled, laugh-out-loud treat.
Sleeping is never the solution when your friends are around!
Rupert, Thistle, and Nibbs are three enthusiastic, toddlerlike mice who are full of questions and ready to continue their story, this time by breaking the fourth wall and leading their audience through an interactive (hyperactive?) reading experience. But first they want advice from Bruce, a blue bear who has been “in lots of books,” not coincidentally, those created by the tale’s celebrated author/illustrator, Higgins. The last thing Bruce wants to do is interact, however—he just wants to sleep! Readers and listeners are invited to close their eyes and tap, rock, tilt, shake, lift, and wobble the book and sketch on it with their fingers in order to move Bruce around and wake him up, though poor Bruce fights his friends at every turn, hoping only for some decent shut-eye. While adults will likely identify with the sleepy bear, kids will love the relentless energy of the mice, the accessible humor and wordplay, the very comical illustrations of the poor beleaguered Bruce, and the opportunity to move the book itself around and try to wake Bruce. Perfect for active and curious kids, this is sure to be a hit with young listeners and early readers alike. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A pun-filled, laugh-out-loud treat. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-368-08411-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
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 sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends.
Is it a stormy-night scare or a bedtime book? Both!
Little Blue Truck and his good friend Toad are heading home when a storm lets loose. Before long, their familiar, now very nervous barnyard friends (Goat, Hen, Goose, Cow, Duck, and Pig) squeeze into the garage. Blue explains that “clouds bump and tumble in the sky, / but here inside we’re warm and dry, / and all the thirsty plants below / will get a drink to help them grow!” The friends begin to relax. “Duck said, loud as he could quack it, / ‘THUNDER’S JUST A NOISY RACKET!’ ” In the quiet after the storm, the barnyard friends are sleepy, but the garage is not their home. “ ‘Beep!’ said Blue. ‘Just hop inside. / All aboard for the bedtime ride!’ ” Young readers will settle down for their own bedtimes as Blue and Toad drop each friend at home and bid them a good night before returning to the garage and their own beds. “Blue gave one small sleepy ‘Beep.’ / Then Little Blue Truck fell fast asleep.” Joseph’s rich nighttime-blue illustrations (done “in the style of [series co-creator] Jill McElmurry”) highlight the power of the storm and capture the still serenity that follows. Little Blue Truck has been chugging along since 2008, but there seems to be plenty of gas left in the tank.
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-85213-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
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