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MIXED-UP MOONCAKES

A much-needed exploration of the intersection of two significant Chinese and Jewish holidays.

A family observes two autumn holidays in this multicultural celebration.

Ruby’s family is preparing for the Mid-Autumn Festival and Sukkot. Ruby and Nainai go to the Chinese market to buy fresh fruit, flowers, lanterns, and mooncakes filled with lotus seed paste and sweet red bean. Then Ruby and Zayde go to the Jewish grocer for fruits mentioned in the Torah such as figs and dates, plus the four species used in a Sukkot ritual. The family builds a sukkah, a hut made of plywood and evergreen branches, and decorates it with lanterns, including one that represents the jade rabbit from the Mid-Autumn Festival legend. Next, Ruby comes up with a perfect plan to combine both holidays: whipping up mooncakes that incorporate the traditional flavors of Sukkot and are festooned with Stars of David. The recipe is included at the book’s conclusion. While the mooncakes bake, the family briefly shares the stories of both holidays, which often occur simultaneously due to the lunar calendar. The colorful digital illustrations include Chinese brushwork—a lovely touch. The authors and illustrator effectively convey the fundamentals of both holidays to newcomers while also providing readers of Chinese and Jewish descent with a wonderful mirror that reflects their experiences.

A much-needed exploration of the intersection of two significant Chinese and Jewish holidays. (authors’ and illustrator’s notes, information on the holidays) (Picture book. 4-10)

Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024

ISBN: 9780063254718

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024

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HOW TO CATCH A MONSTER

From the How To Catch… series

Only for dedicated fans of the series.

When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.

“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.

Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017

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PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

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

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