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SNOW HORSES

A FIRST NIGHT STORY

A quiet, deeply satisfying celebration of the turn of the year and the joy of community.

A young woman harnesses two Percheron horses for a magical sleigh ride on New Year’s Eve.

Archer’s signature scenes set the mood with snowy fields dotted with groupings of trees; an illustration of one of the trees features graceful limbs encircled with collaged images of music notes. Readers follow sheep and Jenny into the barn at dusk as she leads the strong, black horses to the sleigh, attaches bells to their bridles, and turns on the lights outlining four rows of seats. MacLachlan, deftly crafting her narrative with a minimum of well-chosen words, provides the sensory details. Text is presented in blocks of free verse: “The breaths of Tim and / Tom make silver clouds. / The sleigh makes a / whisper sound in the / snow—a comforting / swish, swish, swish.” En route, the vehicle gathers children, some of whom trumpet their excitement from a front porch before hopping aboard. When their turn is over, the elders get a ride, laughing and talking, remembering their own childhood snow play, presented in a sequence of vignettes. Changes in light and perspective maintain interest, as do the patterns of the snowflakes and the starbursts glowing from streetlamps. The warm palette and bold designs of the papers used to depict fabric and floor planks contrast beautifully with the smooth coolness of the wintry landscape. Jenny is brown-skinned; the other characters are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A quiet, deeply satisfying celebration of the turn of the year and the joy of community. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-5344-7355-3

Page Count: 40

Publisher: McElderry

Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022

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THE LEAF THIEF

A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors.

A confused squirrel overreacts to the falling autumn leaves.

Relaxing on a tree branch, Squirrel admires the red, gold, and orange leaves. Suddenly Squirrel screams, “One of my leaves is…MISSING!” Searching for the leaf, Squirrel tells Bird, “Someone stole my leaf!” Spying Mouse sailing in a leaf boat, Squirrel asks if Mouse stole the leaf. Mouse calmly replies in the negative. Bird reminds Squirrel it’s “perfectly normal to lose a leaf or two at this time of year.” Next morning Squirrel panics again, shrieking, “MORE LEAVES HAVE BEEN STOLEN!” Noticing Woodpecker arranging colorful leaves, Squirrel queries, “Are those my leaves?” Woodpecker tells Squirrel, “No.” Again, Bird assures Squirrel that no one’s taking the leaves and that the same thing happened last year, then encourages Squirrel to relax. Too wired to relax despite some yoga and a bath, the next day Squirrel cries “DISASTER” at the sight of bare branches. Frantic now, Squirrel becomes suspicious upon discovering Bird decorating with multicolored leaves. Is Bird the culprit? In response, Bird shows Squirrel the real Leaf Thief: the wind. Squirrel’s wildly dramatic, misguided, and hyperpossessive reaction to a routine seasonal event becomes a rib-tickling farce through clever use of varying type sizes and weights emphasizing his absurd verbal pronouncements as well as exaggerated, comic facial expressions and body language. Bold colors, arresting perspectives, and intense close-ups enhance Squirrel’s histrionics. Endnotes explain the science behind the phenomenon.

A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-7282-3520-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021

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HOW TO CATCH A WITCH

Not enough tricks to make this a treat.

Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.

Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland

Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022

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