A clever, funny prod to do the right thing when changes take root.
A newcomer tests the friendship between a porcupine and his beloved tree, Mildred.
Being well used to playing games with his silent, leafy partner, conducting one-sided conversations, and having her all to himself, Norman is outraged when a sapling springs up nearby: “And WHO is THAT?!” Seeing his best friend drifting away (figuratively), Norman is soon driven by anger and insecurity to dig up his leafy rival in the dead of night and cart it very, very far away—only to be wracked by both fear of being found out and, more worthily, guilt a little later. “I have hit rock bottom!” he declares, falling into the still-open hole next to Mildred, and so hastens off to fetch back the new tree and accommodate himself to being one of three…or, as Higgins suggests in a final scene, maybe more. A tubby figure with wide eyes and a worried expression, Norman strongly resembles a plush toy or inexcusably cute toddler in the mix of large cartoon panels and full-page scenes. Younger children, even those without new sibs or other strangers horning into the family, will have no trouble seeing him as a stand-in or understanding his upset. Along with appreciating the sly Giving Tree vibe and the comical way the narrative and the balloon-enclosed dialogue play off each other, older audiences may see a bit of a message for them, too.
A clever, funny prod to do the right thing when changes take root. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-368-02623-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 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
Sadly, the storytelling runs aground.
A little red sleigh has big Christmas dreams.
Although the detailed, full-color art doesn’t anthropomorphize the protagonist (which readers will likely identify as a sled and not a sleigh), a close third-person text affords the object thoughts and feelings while assigning feminine pronouns. “She longed to become Santa’s big red sleigh,” reads an early line establishing the sleigh’s motivation to leave her Christmas-shop home for the North Pole. Other toys discourage her, but she perseveres despite creeping self-doubt. A train and truck help the sleigh along, and when she wishes she were big, fast, and powerful like them, they offer encouragement and counsel patience. When a storm descends after the sleigh strikes out on her own, an unnamed girl playing in the snow brings her to a group of children who all take turns riding the sleigh down a hill. When the girl brings her home, the sleigh is crestfallen she didn’t reach the North Pole. A convoluted happily-ever-after ending shows a note from Santa that thanks the sleigh for giving children joy and invites her to the North Pole next year. “At last she understood what she was meant to do. She would build her life up spreading joy, one child at a time.” Will she leave the girl’s house to be gifted to other children? Will she stay and somehow also reach ever more children? Readers will be left wondering. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 31.8% of actual size.)
Sadly, the storytelling runs aground. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-72822-355-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
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