Warm and lovely.
Young Leelee and her dog, Pickles, prepare for Shabbat one busy Friday afternoon.
With the spiraling structure of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (1985), the book follows the duo from one activity to the next. Leelee and Pickles must clean up the crumbs they dropped while eating challah, which leads to them finding loose change under the couch. They decide to donate the money, but the tzedakah boxes are full, so Leelee empties out a flowerpot to use instead. Onomatopoeic interjections, encouraging a read-aloud experience, are included throughout, beginning with the simple clink of a coin and escalating to the “Pah! Bah-bah! Rah!” of a trombone that Leelee finds when searching for a shoe. This discovery leads, naturally, to a parade through the street, with Leelee and Pickles inviting the neighbors and friends they meet home for dinner. The penultimate spread calms both characters and readers with the sights and sounds of candle-lighting before the Shabbat meal begins. Expressive cartoon illustrations depict a brown-haired, olive-skinned Jewish family enjoying a loving, if hectic, afternoon. A close-up of detritus under the couch and a long shot of a mother putting on earrings in a mostly tidy house convey the dynamism of the scene; Leelee’s curly pigtails bring an enormous energy all their own. Repetition and mounting lists create a propulsive rhythm as sunset draws nearer. Leelee’s community is a diverse one.
Warm and lovely. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: April 30, 2024
ISBN: 9781623543570
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series.
Another creature is on the loose.
The long-running series continues its successful formula with this Hallmark card of a book, which features bright illustrations and catchy rhymes. This time, the mythical creature the racially diverse children set out to catch is an absent mom who does it all (lists of descriptors include the words banker, caregiver, nurse, doctor, driver, chef, housekeeper, teacher, entertainer, playmate, laundry service, problem solver, handywoman, cleaner, and alarm clock) but doesn’t seem to have a job outside the home and is inexplicably a dinosaur. As the children prepare gifts and a meal for her, the text becomes an ode to the skills the Mamasaurus possesses (“Day or night she’s always there. / She meets every wish and need”) and values she instills (“Sometimes life can mean hard work,” “kindness matters,” and “what counts is doing your best”). This well-intentioned selection veers into cliche generously sprinkled with saccharine but manages to redeem itself with its appreciation for mothers and all that they may do. Endpapers include a “to” and “from” page framed in a heart, as well as a page where young gift givers or recipients can draw a picture of their Mamasaurus.
A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781728274300
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
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