A perceptive, three-season–ish celebration of snow perfect for a snuggly read.
Snow. Can’t wait for it to appear. Can’t wait for it to disappear.
From the first hopeful glimpse of what might be the First Snow to an impatient farewell to lingering Spring Snow, Yeomans captures the ever changing nuances of the frozen precipitation and how children interact with it. A simple, repetitive rhyme scheme (all but the fourth line of each verse ends with “snow,” and fourth-line pairs rhyme) is soothing and rhythmic, but precise verbs and adjectives make the story shine. “Arms fly up and down snow. / Legs sweep along the ground snow. / Move and flop again snow, / a flock of angels sings.” Joyful neighborhood children of diverse races and their equally exuberant pet dogs build snow forts and stage snowball battles, create snow tunnels and slides after shoveling out, and even enjoy “the best snow is Snow Day Snow. / Can’t go out in that snow. / Too much coming down snow, / a world of swirling white.” (Look for the snoozing Snow Day dogs.) Realistic illustrations are done in pen, ink, and watercolor with digital touches and are a bit reminiscent of Trina Schart Hyman’s work. Scenes morph from fall through winter to spring and incorporate snow from soft flurries to blinding blizzards.
A perceptive, three-season–ish celebration of snow perfect for a snuggly read. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-399-54754-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree.
A Christmas edition of the beloved alphabet book.
The story starts off nearly identically to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989), written by John Archambault and the late Bill Martin Jr, with the letters A, B, and C deciding to meet in the branches of a tree. This time, they’re attempting to scale a Christmas tree, not a coconut tree, and the letters are strung together like garland. A, B, and C are joined by the other letters, and of course they all “slip, slop, topple, plop!” right down the tree. At the bottom, they discover an assortment of gifts, all in a variety of shapes. As a team, the letters and presents organize themselves to get back up on the Christmas tree and get a star to the top. Holiday iterations of favorite tales often fall flat, but this take succeeds. The gifts are an easy way to reinforce another preschool concept—shapes—and the text uses just enough of the original to be familiar. The rhyming works, sticking to the cadence of the source material. The illustrations pay homage to the late Lois Ehlert’s, featuring the same bold block letters, though they lack some of the whimsy and personality of the original. Otherwise, everything is similarly brightly colored and simply drawn. Those familiar with the classic will be drawn to this one, but newcomers can enjoy it on its own.
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665954761
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
Fun enough to read once but without enough substance to last.
Familiar crayon characters argue over which color is the essential Christmas color.
Green starts by saying that green is for Christmas. After all, green is for holly. But Red objects. Red is for candy canes. Green is for fir trees, Green retorts. But Red is for Santa Claus, who agrees. (Santa is depicted as a white-bearded White man.) Then White joins the fray. After spending the year being invisible, White isn’t giving up the distinction of association with Christmas. Snow, anyone? But then there’s Silver: stars and bells. And Brown: cookies and reindeer! At this point, everyone is confused. But they come together and agree that Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without all of them together. Someone may get the last word, though. In Daywalt and Jeffers’ now-signature style, the crayon-written text is spare and humorous, while the crayon characters engage with each other against a bare white background, vying for attention. Dot-eyed faces and stick legs on each object turn them all into comical, if similar, personalities. But the series’ original cleverness is absent here, leaving readers with a perfunctory recitation of attributes. Fans of the crayon books may delight in another themed installment; those who aren’t already fans will likely find it lacking. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Fun enough to read once but without enough substance to last. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 19, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-35338-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
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