A family of rabbits help themselves to carrots from an outdoor Christmas tree on the attractive cover of this collection of 15 previously published poems about winter and Christmas by the late poet. The appealing rabbits are shown building a snow rabbit on the title page and then reappearing in the illustration for three poems. Fox-Davies includes mice, birds and pets in the art for the remaining poems; her illustrations in watercolor and pencil are sweet and traditional, set on a snowy farm with a red farmhouse and cheery children bundled up against the cold. The rhyming poems speak of watching the arrival of winter and Christmas, experiencing frosty windows and snowstorms and preparing for the holiday. One quibble is an unnecessary introductory note to readers from poet Karla Kuskin that is oddly placed at the beginning of the volume. The note and the facing illustration of children building an igloo disrupt the flow of the rabbit illustrations from cover to title page to the first poem. Still, this is a treat for Christmas or any winter reading. (Picture book/poetry. 4-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-8050-7491-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2007
Categories: CHILDREN'S POETRY | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS
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This heavily earnest celebration of multi-ethnicity combines full-bleed paintings of smiling children, viewed through a golden haze dancing, playing, planting seedlings, and the like, with a hyperbolic, disconnected text—``Dark as leopard spots, light as sand,/Children buzz with laughter that kisses our land...''— printed in wavy lines. Literal-minded readers may have trouble with the author's premise, that ``Children come in all the colors of the earth and sky and sea'' (green? blue?), and most of the children here, though of diverse and mixed racial ancestry, wear shorts and T-shirts and seem to be about the same age. Hamanaka has chosen a worthy theme, but she develops it without the humor or imagination that animates her Screen of Frogs (1993). (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-688-11131-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1994
Categories: CHILDREN'S POETRY
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A Halloween book that rides on the rhythms of “Over in the Meadow.”
Although Halloween rhyming counting books abound, this stands out, with a text that begs to be read aloud and cartoony digital illustrations that add goofy appeal. A girl and two boys set off on Halloween night to go trick-or-treating. As the children leave the cozy, warm glow of their street, readers see a haunted house on a hill, with gravestones dotting the front yard. Climbing the twisty path to the dark estate takes time, so the story turns to the antics inside the house. “At the old haunted house in a room with no sun / lived a warty green witch and her wee witch one. ‘SPELL!’ cried the witch. ‘POOF!’ cried the one. / And they both practiced spells in the room with no sun.” The actions of the scary creatures within may seem odd, but the rhyme must go on: Cats scratch, goblins dust, monsters stir, and mummies mix. Eventually the three kids reach the front door and are invited in for stew, cake and brew. At first shocked by the gruesome fare, the children recover quickly and get caught up in partying with the slightly spooky but friendly menagerie.
A good choice to share with wriggly listeners, who will soon be joining in. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 12, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4778-4769-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Two Lions
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
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