by Ann Bonwill ; illustrated by Steve Johnson ; Lou Fancher ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 28, 2013
Youngsters are sure to carry these images into their dreams.
Rhythmic lines will lull youngsters who are fully immersed in fairy-tale lore into a dreamy state.
The verse provides the progression, occasionally a stretch, from spread to spread. The waves that rock the mermaids also carry ships on which pirates sleep on trunks. These trunks contain treasures dug from sand. The castle is made of sand, and this is where wizards watch the night sky, and so on until readers encounter the sleeping child, whose ordinary room is seemingly touched by magic as a curl of stardust drifts in through the open window. Images of typically frightening creatures such as giants and goblins slumbering may remind children to put their problems to bed, that nothing can harm them, although younger, less sophisticated tots may find them a tad disturbing. These spreads are interspersed with scenes of the more expected and enchanting denizens of fairyland: The mermaids gently rock on seaweed beds, unicorns rest on pillows of leaves, and fairies are comfortably cupped in flowers underneath the moon—the same moon that shines into the child’s room. Lush, jewel-tone illustrations feature rich patterns and are as luminous as if they too are touched by moonlight.
Youngsters are sure to carry these images into their dreams. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 28, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-87061-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2013
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by Lucy Rowland ; illustrated by Paula Metcalf ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2019
A humorous rhyming romp in which the usual fairy-tale villains are friends. (Picture book. 3-6)
Alice, the princess in the palace, loves her blankie, but it’s missing, so the search is on.
Her brother, Jack, used it as a curtain until a giant stole it to use as a hankie, until a witch flew off with it and made a cloak from it, until it was taken by…a cranky-looking dragon who happens to be snoring on it when Alice finds them. Alice is cranky herself but halts a brief blankie tug of war for a better solution: finding the dragon his own bedtime snuggly. It’s not easy. The dragon grows increasingly weepy, but he won’t snuggle with the witch’s “far too scratchy” cat, the giant’s feather pillow (it makes him sneeze), or Jack’s stinky socks. What can Alice do? A thorough search of the palace finally yields the dragon’s perfect snuggly and earns Alice a lifelong friend and protector. Muted mixed-media cartoon illustrations create rich backstories for each character combined with a sophisticated, smoothly reading rhyme scheme to produce a fast-moving friendship story that problem-solving young children will appreciate. Princess Alice, Prince Jack, and the giant present as dark-haired white characters.
A humorous rhyming romp in which the usual fairy-tale villains are friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0819-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
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by Lucy Rowland ; illustrated by Katy Halford
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by Lucy Rowland ; illustrated by Katy Halford
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by Lucy Rowland ; illustrated by Paula Bowles
by Danica McKellar ; illustrated by Jennifer Bricking ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 13, 2018
A deterministic message detracts from the math.
For 10 flower friends, the grass is always greener…in the sky.
Ten Fantasia-like flowers with adorable faces and leaf arms/hands love being together and basking in the sun, but they also can’t help wanting to break free of their roots and fly when they see the fairies flitting about in the moonlight. One night, “Said the tiny blue one, / ‘Fairy up in the sky, / you see, I’m a flower, / but I want to fly.’ ” While the fairy is puzzled at the flower’s discontent, she grants its wish and transforms it into a butterfly. One by one the others join their mate in the sky as butterflies, each one’s color reflecting its flower origin. At daybreak, though, the new butterflies regret the transformation, and the understanding fairy changes them back again: “But big and tall, / or short and small, / being ourselves / is best of all!” Really? There isn’t even one flower that would really rather fly all the time? Throughout, McKellar emphasizes that there are always 10 in all, though some may be flowers and some butterflies at any given point. The endpapers reinforce ways to make 10 by showing 11 combinations, all in two rows of five, which may confuse children, rather than always keeping butterflies separate from flowers and allowing one row to be longer than the other. The bright colors, butterflies, flowers, and the fairy, who is a dark-skinned pixie with long black hair, seem calibrated to attract girly audiences.
A deterministic message detracts from the math. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 13, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-101-93382-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
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by Danica McKellar ; illustrated by Josée Masse
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by Danica McKellar ; illustrated by Alicia Padrón
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