Encouraging and kind.
Percy adjusts to his new home by opening himself to nature.
The first of the book’s whimsical, exclusively double-paged spreads opens with the text “Percy’s old house was perfect. There was always something to do, and always someone to do it with.” Percy’s former home is an immaculately clean city, portrayed with candy-confection colors and populated by a diverse group of active, happy citizens. Aided by Percy’s image on the cover, readers can spot Percy, a school-age boy with brown skin and a thatch of straight brown hair, upstairs with a friend, inside one of the buildings. Soon it is revealed that Percy’s new home has a large, sprawling yard with a good-sized playhouse toward the back. There are meadows and mountains. A light-skinned girl and her dog occasionally appear in the distance. It takes a short amount of time for Percy and his cat to start exploring the surroundings and to start collecting and recording. The text continues with short, generalized statements about new concepts Percy learns as he continues his investigations. What he finds and draws becomes, in the backyard playhouse, the titular museum. A gentle sweetness pervades the book, which comes full circle in the concluding spread. The art and text—and the lack of adult interventions—offer relief and empowerment to children facing a new environment and a calming, quiet read to those who are not. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9.4-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 54.8% of actual size.)
Encouraging and kind. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-77306-252-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
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