The playful design gives this Christmas book high appeal to young readers.
Santa’s cookie disappears on Christmas Eve, and a series of cut-out concentric circles offers possible locations for the renegade treat.
The story in this board book is simple: “After our feast, Santa’s cookie goes missing! Where could it be? / Hanging on the tree? // Is it on the wreath?” And so the tale progresses, question after question, the circles growing smaller and smaller until at last the mystery is solved. The fun of this is the concentric circles, some adorned with red sparkles, others with shiny green foil. The best are the guesses in which the circle is cleverly included in the illustration, such as the middle snowball of a snowman or the center of a keyhole. The cookie is visible all along, including from the cover, but of course the mystery of where it actually is remains hidden throughout the book. Passchier’s illustrations depict Santa as white, but other characters, including elves, are diverse. There is a consistent color palette featuring the obvious red and green along with pastel pinks, blues, and greens. There isn’t a lot of detail in the images, allowing the focus to remain on the cutouts. The book ends with a bit of a wink to the readers: “Hey, where’s Santa’s milk?” The answer to that is also on the final double-page spread, and given where the cookie winds up, it should elicit a smile.
The playful design gives this Christmas book high appeal to young readers. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-358-04054-5
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes.
A lift-the-flap book gives the littlest trick-or-treaters some practice identifying partygoers under their costumes.
Little Blue Truck and his buddy Toad are off to a party, and they invite readers (and a black cat) along for the ride: “ ‘Beep! Beep! Beep!’ / says Little Blue. / ‘It’s Halloween!’ / You come, too.” As they drive, they are surprised (and joined) by many of their friends in costume. “Who’s that in a tutu / striking a pose / up on the tiniest / tips of her toes? / Under the mask / who do you see?” Lifting the flap unmasks a friend: “ ‘Quack!’ says the duck. / ‘It’s me! It’s me!’ ” The sheep is disguised as a clown, the cow’s a queen, the pig’s a witch, the hen and her chick are pirates, and the horse is a dragon. Not to be left out, Little Blue has a costume, too. The flaps are large and sturdy, and enough of the animals’ characteristic features are visible under and around the costumes that little ones will be able to make successful guesses even on the first reading. Lovely curvy shapes and autumn colors fade to dusky blues as night falls, and children are sure to notice the traditional elements of a Halloween party: apple bobbing, lit jack-o’-lanterns, and punch and treats.
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-77253-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
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BOOK REVIEW
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