Frankly, Frank and Laverne don’t have too much to offer beyond the two-sided format gimmick.
Dogs and cats have different perspectives on the world, a dichotomy explored in this humorous tale retelling the same story from two different viewpoints.
Energetic Frank is a pugnacious pug who guards his house against squirrels, loves his family, and barks vociferously. Laverne is a laid-back lavender cat who practices Zen gardening in her litter box. She’s a sly thing who really wants Frank out of her life so she can have his stuffed fish toy all to herself. Frank’s story is told in journal format, covering a week of interactions with family, neighborhood animals, and his pal, Laverne. When the book is flipped over, Laverne tells her version of the week’s events, both stories ending in the middle with the cat in possession of the fish toy. Cartoon-style illustrations in watercolor and pencil set small, multiple vignettes against extensive white space, a format that will appeal to older readers. The two typefaces (different for cat and dog) are too small in size and in weight, making the text difficult to read—a mystifying design choice, as there was plenty of space available for a larger type size. While this double-trouble story may be useful in classrooms exploring perspective in creative writing, the story itself really isn’t very funny or compelling, and there are many fractured fairy tales that employ varying viewpoints in more exciting style.
Frankly, Frank and Laverne don’t have too much to offer beyond the two-sided format gimmick. (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: April 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77147-145-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2016
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
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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