A bevy of literarily named puppies threatens to overwhelm Mollie’s houseboat, until she figures out a solution that spreads the wealth around. Mollie’s father is away on a fishing trip when Sheba gives birth to 11 wiggly puppies, and her mother doesn’t hesitate to remind her, “One dog is enough for me.” Mollie works with a will to raise the pups, naming them for her favorite book characters—the runt, Wilbur, is her favorite, but he shares the boat with Charlotte, Heidi, Stuart, Margalo, Max, Pippi, Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger. The lighthearted text doesn’t shy away from the hard work attendant upon a litter of puppies, and readers will see why Mollie’s mother is a one-dog person. When the pups are weaned, Mollie invites friends and neighbors to a tea party, and of course, each one leaves with a pup (her best friend Junichi takes Wilbur) just in time for her father to return home. It’s an agreeable tale, with happy, if pedestrian, illustrations, but doesn’t really do much. Still, puppy-crazy kids may find this appealing, if all the other puppy stories are checked out. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2005
ISBN: 1-55143-390-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2005
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
Turkey’s in the “kind of trouble where it’s almost Thanksgiving...and you’re the main course.” Accordingly, Turkey tries on disguise after disguise, from horse to cow to pig to sheep, at each iteration being told that he looks nothing like the animal he’s trying to mimic (which is quite true, as Harper’s quirky watercolors make crystal clear). He desperately squeezes a red rubber glove onto his head to pass as a rooster, only to overhear the farmer suggest a poultry plan B when he’s unable to turn up the turkey. Turkey’s horrified expression as he stands among the peppers and tomatoes—in November? Chalk it up to artistic license—is priceless, but his surroundings give him an idea. Good fun, but it may lead to a vegetarian table or two. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7614-5529-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2009
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