The lovely ink-and-watercolor paintings cannot save this unfortunate effort with its missed opportunity for a wholly...
Jewish Rachel is enchanted by the holiday glitter of Christmas lights and decorations, as well as the anticipated visits from Santa Claus, but her family will have none of it.
Determined to take part, she writes a letter to Santa asking him to come down her chimney because she’s been “really good all year” and deems Santa “a fair person [who] will not mind that [she] is Jewish.” On Christmas Eve, Rachel secretly decorates her living room, leaves leftover latkes with chocolate chips hastily added, and an “I love you, Santa” note. She is angrily disappointed the next morning when there are no presents. In the Chinese restaurant on Christmas Day, Rachel sees classmates who are Chinese and Indian and learns they also do not celebrate Christmas, which helps to soothe the sting. The authors’ attempt to address a child’s disgruntled frustration at not participating in what seems to her to be the greatest party of the year is poorly executed, however well-intended. Even as they do an adequate job of mentioning all the jovial celebrations Jewish families enjoy throughout the calendar year (“Being Jewish was fun most of the time”), they undercut Rachel’s eye-opening multicultural revelation with an unnecessary last scene: a parade of joyful children holding gifts passes Rachel, who thinks “she could still feel a tiny bit bad” about eschewing Christmas.
The lovely ink-and-watercolor paintings cannot save this unfortunate effort with its missed opportunity for a wholly positive outcome. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51061-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Thoughtful and joyful.
A child of Vietnamese descent fantasizes about the perfect outfit for Tết.
One night, Mai dreams about being a big “STAAAAAAR” and fielding questions on the red carpet. Mai’s literal dream dress is a sparkly silver ballroom gown with a sweetheart cut. After waking up, the child is eager to tell Ba all about it, but first it’s time to get ready. It’s the first day of Tết, or Lunar New Year, and the family plans to celebrate at Mai’s grandmother’s house. Though Mai loves visiting Bà Nội, the child balks at donning the áo dài, a Vietnamese outfit consisting of a tunic worn over trousers. “Stars wear dresses and gowns,” Mai tells Ba. But Ba shows Mai the family photo album, explaining that Bà Nội had her own sewing school in Vietnam and that her students lovingly dubbed her the “Queen of Áo Dài.” To keep their traditions alive when the family emigrated, Bà Nội continued to make áo dài for her loved ones, and the children learned to sew them as an expression of love. Finally, with a newfound appreciation for the garment, Mai greets Bà Nội with a hug, clad in a customized áo dài made by Ba. Told entirely through naturally expressed and well-paced dialogue and accompanied by vividly textured illustrations, this is a loving tale of a family finding a creative way to reshape a beloved tradition.
Thoughtful and joyful. (glossary, “let’s design our own áo dài” activity) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781665917346
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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