Fear of the unknown is the overriding theme, and yet there isn’t a satisfactory resolution—except for the very plump...
What do chupacabras, candelabras, and cucarachas have in common?
Three silly goats, Jayna, Bumsie, and Pep, live in precarious proximity to the nemesis of cabras everywhere—the dreaded goat-sucker. Tired of waiting for the inevitable visit from their voracious neighbor, they brave the night armed only with a candelabra. Suddenly the lights go out; the chupacabra has eaten the candelabra! In the ensuing chaos, the goats discover the purple beastie’s three favorite comestibles are candelabras, cucarachas, and—whew!—goat…cheese. They sigh with relief and make sure to keep the chevre coming. Aranda’s whimsical, Mexican folk art–inspired ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations are this story’s principal draw. The wacky villain is Easter-bunny cute (with the exception of its fanged shadow), and the mustard, pink, and orange goats are endearingly goofy with their exaggerated hair- and horn-styles. However, Nobleman’s slight and flighty tale’s subliminal message is troubling. The goats are so blinded by fear that they fail to notice that the chupacabra never threatens or demands. “Oh, would it be any trouble?” is its wistful response to their bumbling offers of food. Yet the goats continue to assume the perky winged omnivore has them in its sights. Aside from the initial confrontation, they fail to regain control of their lives. Instead, the hoofed trio voluntarily commit themselves to appeasing the chupacabra’s prodigious appetites indefinitely.
Fear of the unknown is the overriding theme, and yet there isn’t a satisfactory resolution—except for the very plump chupacabra. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-17443-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
A charming blend of whimsy and medieval heroism highlighting the triumph of brains over brawn.
A young owl achieves his grand ambition.
Owl, an adorably earnest and gallant little owlet, dreams of being a knight. He imagines himself defeating dragons and winning favor far and wide through his brave exploits. When a record number of knights go missing, Owl applies to Knight School and is surprisingly accepted. He is much smaller than the other knights-in-training, struggles to wield weapons, and has “a habit of nodding off during the day.” Nevertheless, he graduates and is assigned to the Knight Night Watch. While patrolling the castle walls one night, a hungry dragon shows up and Owl must use his wits to avoid meeting a terrible end. The result is both humorous and heartwarming, offering an affirmation of courage and clear thinking no matter one’s size…and demonstrating the power of a midnight snack. The story never directly addresses the question of the missing knights, but it is hinted that they became the dragon’s fodder, leaving readers to question Owl’s decision to befriend the beast. Humor is supplied by the characters’ facial expressions and accented by the fact that Owl is the only animal in his order of big, burly human knights. Denise’s accomplished digital illustrations—many of which are full bleeds—often use a warm sepia palette that evokes a feeling of antiquity, and some spreads feature a pleasing play of chiaroscuro that creates suspense and drama.
A charming blend of whimsy and medieval heroism highlighting the triumph of brains over brawn. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-31062-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
A surprisingly nuanced lesson set in confidence-building, easy-to-decode text.
A unicorn learns a friendship lesson in this chapter-book series opener.
Unicorn Bo has friends but longs for a “bestie.” Luckily, a new unicorn pops into existence (literally: Unicorns appear on especially starry nights) and joins Bo at the Sparklegrove School for Unicorns, where they study things like unicorn magic. Each unicorn has a special power; Bo’s is granting wishes. Not knowing what his own might be distresses new unicorn Sunny. When the week’s assignment is to earn a patch by using their unicorn powers to help someone, Bo hopes Sunny will wish to know Bo's power (enabling both unicorns to complete the task, and besides, Bo enjoys Sunny’s company and wants to help him). But when the words come out wrong, Sunny thinks Bo was feigning friendship to get to grant a wish and earn a patch, setting up a fairly sophisticated conflict. Bo makes things up to Sunny, and then—with the unicorns friends again and no longer trying to force their powers—arising circumstances enable them to earn their patches. The cheerful illustrations feature a sherbet palette, using patterns for texture; on busy pages with background colors similar to the characters’ color schemes, this combines with the absence of outlines to make discerning some individual characters a challenge. The format, familiar to readers of Elliott’s Owl Diaries series, uses large print and speech bubbles to keep pages to a manageable amount of text.
A surprisingly nuanced lesson set in confidence-building, easy-to-decode text. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-32332-0
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
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