A sweet window into Indigenous Christmas traditions.
Kinew (Onigaming First Nation), premier of Manitoba, tells the story of a Native family returning home to the reservation on the winter solstice.
Baby, an Anishinaabe child, doesn’t want to go back to the rez for Christmas: How will Santa find the family if they aren’t in the city? On the drive into the country, Baby’s pressing concerns fill the car: Why are presents exchanged on Christmas? Why is the rez “home” if they don't live there? Baby’s parents, who both have tan skin and black hair like Baby, answer each question by centering Anishinaabe language and values: Daddy explains that miigiwe means “giving away,” while Mommy says that giiwedaa (“let’s go home”) reflects the Anishinaabe reality that “home is where we live. But home is also where we come from.” The tender reunion with Kookom (Grandmother) and Mooshom (Grandfather) includes storytelling, sipping tea and eating bannock, singing, and giving gifts. Indigenous illustrator Hill’s cartoon art brings warmth and heart to Kinew’s simple narrative. Backmatter briefly spotlights the Anishinaabe customs of sharing food and gifts during the winter solstice, as well as the community’s reclamation of feasting and miigiwe at the end of the year. The sense of cultural pride and holiday joy will resonate with many young readers and their families.
A sweet window into Indigenous Christmas traditions. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9781774883570
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
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
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
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