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IF ANIMALS TRICK-OR-TREATED

From the If Animals Kissed Good Night series

A cute introduction to Halloween for youngsters.

We’ve seen how Paul and Walker’s adorable animals celebrate Thanksgiving; what about Halloween?

All the Halloween check boxes are ticked for the littlest listeners, and Paul zooms in on Mama and little Owlet at they complete each one: carving pumpkins, decorating, donning costumes, and trick-or-treating. Interspersed among these, other animals join in on the festivities. Bat adds fangs to her pumpkin, and “Hatchling would beg Papa Crocodile / to carve his pumpkin a sneee-eery smile.” (Cleverly, their pumpkin croc features an oblong pumpkin carved sideways with successively smaller pumpkins for the body.) Bushes and trees get festooned with spiderwebs and orange-and-black steamers, and, somewhat disturbingly, “Vulture chicks would scat-scatter fresh skeleton bones / close to a cluster of old tombstones.” Costumes include the traditional (superhero, mummy, witch) as well as some creative twists (Zebra Foal wears “a costume of spots” that resembles a giraffe’s hide; Little Leopard dons a striped costume). Treats match the giver: Parrot gives seeds, Armadillo passes out chocolate ants, and Raccoon offers “garbage-fudge squares.” Page turns and line breaks sometimes interrupt the rhythm of the verses, though the rhymes are pretty spot-on. Walker’s scenes start during the day and gradually fade to night, when the illustrations almost seem to glow, gentle stars in the sky shining down, and the shared book at the close is the ideal end to a busy day.(This book was reviewed digitally.)

A cute introduction to Halloween for youngsters. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: July 19, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-374-38852-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Review Posted Online: April 26, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

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THE LEAF THIEF

A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors.

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A confused squirrel overreacts to the falling autumn leaves.

Relaxing on a tree branch, Squirrel admires the red, gold, and orange leaves. Suddenly Squirrel screams, “One of my leaves is…MISSING!” Searching for the leaf, Squirrel tells Bird, “Someone stole my leaf!” Spying Mouse sailing in a leaf boat, Squirrel asks if Mouse stole the leaf. Mouse calmly replies in the negative. Bird reminds Squirrel it’s “perfectly normal to lose a leaf or two at this time of year.” Next morning Squirrel panics again, shrieking, “MORE LEAVES HAVE BEEN STOLEN!” Noticing Woodpecker arranging colorful leaves, Squirrel queries, “Are those my leaves?” Woodpecker tells Squirrel, “No.” Again, Bird assures Squirrel that no one’s taking the leaves and that the same thing happened last year, then encourages Squirrel to relax. Too wired to relax despite some yoga and a bath, the next day Squirrel cries “DISASTER” at the sight of bare branches. Frantic now, Squirrel becomes suspicious upon discovering Bird decorating with multicolored leaves. Is Bird the culprit? In response, Bird shows Squirrel the real Leaf Thief: the wind. Squirrel’s wildly dramatic, misguided, and hyperpossessive reaction to a routine seasonal event becomes a rib-tickling farce through clever use of varying type sizes and weights emphasizing his absurd verbal pronouncements as well as exaggerated, comic facial expressions and body language. Bold colors, arresting perspectives, and intense close-ups enhance Squirrel’s histrionics. Endnotes explain the science behind the phenomenon.

A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-7282-3520-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021

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