This import from France delivers a message kids never tire of hearing.
A mother explains to her child that she will always love him, no matter what.
When Max asks his mother at bedtime if she will love him his whole life, her response is just the gentle reassurance he needs and reflects the almost universal feelings of parents the world over. “I loved you from the day I met you / and even before then.” The simple line artwork in retro colors extends the text: “I love you when you can see it” appears with a depiction of mom handing over a huge cotton candy at a fair. Opposite, the boy, clearly sorry, stands with his back to his obviously angry mother while she cleans up a broken vase, the text reading, “and even when you don’t.” Another spread differs only in the pictures. “I love you when you’re against me / and when you’re against me,” reads the text. On verso, the duo cuddles on the couch, while on recto, the two are at odds over a bag of candy. No matter how he looks or what he does, whether he succeeds or hasn’t yet, when they are together or apart, “I love you everyday. // And I’ll love you forever.” The little family is portrayed as colorless in the illustrations, though the boy and his father (seen in a few pictures) are blond, the mom has black hair, and all have pink cheeks.
This import from France delivers a message kids never tire of hearing. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 25, 2016
ISBN: 978-3-89955-765-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Gestalten
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy.
Robo-parents Diode and Lugnut present daughter Cathode with a new little brother—who requires, unfortunately, some assembly.
Arriving in pieces from some mechanistic version of Ikea, little Flange turns out to be a cute but complicated tyke who immediately falls apart…and then rockets uncontrollably about the room after an overconfident uncle tinkers with his basic design. As a squad of helpline techies and bevies of neighbors bearing sludge cake and like treats roll in, the cluttered and increasingly crowded scene deteriorates into madcap chaos—until at last Cath, with help from Roomba-like robodog Sprocket, stages an intervention by whisking the hapless new arrival off to a backyard workshop for a proper assembly and software update. “You’re such a good big sister!” warbles her frazzled mom. Wiesner’s robots display his characteristic clean lines and even hues but endearingly look like vaguely anthropomorphic piles of random jet-engine parts and old vacuum cleaners loosely connected by joints of armored cable. They roll hither and thither through neatly squared-off panels and pages in infectiously comical dismay. Even the end’s domestic tranquility lasts only until Cathode spots the little box buried in the bigger one’s packing material: “TWINS!” (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 52% of actual size.)
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-544-98731-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
Maybe these kids should try babysitting Santa.
The creators of the bestselling How to Babysit a Grandpa (2012) and How to Babysit a Grandma (2014) continue their series with this story about a brother and sister who want to capture Santa on his annual visit to their home.
The children discuss improbable ideas for spotting or catching Santa, including a complicated sequence with notes to lure Santa up to their bedroom. They wait up for Santa, and a nighttime view of Santa and the reindeer on the neighborhood’s roofs makes his arrival seem imminent. Then, in a disappointing conclusion, the children fall asleep with no sign of Santa’s arrival. In the morning it’s clear Santa has been there, as the presents are under the tree and the cookies and carrots have been eaten. There is a trail of red glitter leading to the chimney from the letter the kids sent to Santa, but that’s the only surprise this story has to offer. Readers might be expecting some sort of exciting trap for Santa or some clever way the children get to meet him or ride in his sleigh. No…just a sprinkle of red glitter. Digitally produced illustration are bright and cheery, with cute kids and amusing details, but sharp-eyed readers will notice the decorated Christmas tree in the living room is inexplicably placed in four different locations on different pages.
Maybe these kids should try babysitting Santa. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-49839-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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