A clever and amusing animal tale that’s well suited for Sunday school audiences.
The animals in the barn at the first Christmas speak their minds in this debut picture book that provides a retelling of the traditional Christian story.
On a winter night, all is normal in the barn. Cow is hungry; Donkey is playful; Sheep wants peace and quiet; Chicken is flustered; and no one listens to Bird. But when they start to speak in human language and Cow finds a baby in her hay, the animals realize something big is happening. Bird explains that the human child is the baby mentioned in prophecies that she overheard at the temple. Donkey has the animals in awe as he explains he brought the infant to the barn. Quickly, the animals team up to offer gifts to the child just as their language returns to moos and clucks. Those familiar with the Christmas story and the legend that animals gained the power of human speech that night won’t find anything new here. But Westgate-Silva’s sense of humor makes the retelling enjoyable—and perhaps a good choice to adapt for a church Christmas pageant. The animals’ varying voices are distinct at first; as the tale becomes more serious, they sound closer to Scripture than silliness. Veteran illustrator Piwowarski captures the comedy of the animals in his textured, digital paintings while offering respectful depictions of the Holy Family. The outlines of camels on the last page give a clue to the next part of the story.
A clever and amusing animal tale that’s well suited for Sunday school audiences.Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-955123-56-3
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Stillwater River Publications
Review Posted Online: March 7, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property.
Since a reformed Grinch is hardly any fun, this follow-up Grinches him up once more.
Those seeking more of the same, prepare to receive precisely that. Christmas is coming (again!), and the Grinch can hardly wait. He’s been patient all year, and now he can finally show the Whos down in Who-ville how much he’s changed. When the Grinch learns of a tree-decorating contest, he figures that if he wins, it’ll prove he truly has the Christmas spirit. He throws himself into the task, but when it comes time to judge the trees, the Grinch is horrified to discover that he’s received only the second-place trophy. Can Cindy-Lou Who find the words to save the day? Replicating many of the original beats and wordplay of the original, this tale feels like less a sequel and more like a vaguely rewritten variation. Meanwhile, Ruiz’s art seeks to bridge the gap between the animated Chuck Jones version of the Grinch and the one depicted in the original book. This thankless task results in a strange uncanny valley between Seuss and Jones but does allow the artist a chance to colorize everything and lend some racial diversity to the Who population (Cindy-Lou is light-skinned). (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9780593563168
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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