From the Toy Story school of 3-D computer animation comes this intergalactic Christmas drama from Wood (Sweet Dream Pie, p. 120, etc.) and son. The time is the future, when humans have colonized other planets and Santa needs a team of delivery agents to distribute his Yuletide goodies. Space Elf Sam is charged by Santa to get Christmas presents to Alpha One_a space colony that has just come to Santa's attention_even though the hour is late. A bit of a hotshot, Sam tries to peel some light years off his destination by warping through a hydrogen cloud, but only succeeds in damaging his spaceship. He makes an emergency landing on the unexplored planet of Gom. The Gommers' apparent menace turns out to be a case of xenophobia, and when Sam is brought before the king and queen, he explains Christmas and helps the Gommers concoct their own holiday ceremony with the help of some Teebles (trees), Zogs (ornamental critters), and Winky-Winks (twinkling lights). Despite all delays, Sam arrives at Alpha One on time. The pleasures of giving is a message worn on the sleeve here; the energy of the text is duplicated (and sometimes bested) by the illustrations. They have an electric palette just this side of garish, will make readers want to reach inside the pages and pull the characters out, and vastly reward rereadings. (Picture book. 4-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-590-03143-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Blue Sky/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
"My mom and dad were divorced," begins this refreshing variant on a familiar theme. Patricia and her brother stay with Dad and Gramma in the summer; when Dad seems to have forgotten Patricia's birthday, she takes it in stride, going along with him when he decides to stalk "the Monster at Clay Pit Bottoms." After a picnic by moonlight, the kids are frightened out of their wits by an apparition, but it's just Dad—he fell into the pond and came out covered with bulrushes. Meanwhile, of course, Gramma has provided a birthday cake. Both the lively narrative and the energetic illustrations capture the thrill and humor of these shenanigans; Polacco's characters' flamboyant gestures, like mime, adroitly convey both their comically exaggerated reactions and their subtler feelings. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1991
ISBN: 0-671-72750-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1991
Share at Halloween or use as an example of playing with chants and rhymes. Perhaps this title will inspire many magical...
When gloomy weather threatens the Witch Parade, young Delia tries out various spells to change the weather.
As Delia swoops in for the Halloween event, the rain is “positively pouring buckets,” so Delia brandishes her wand declaring, “It’s raining, it’s pouring, / but raindrops are BORING. / Change the rainfall on my head. / Make it CATS and DOGS instead!” Though at first they enjoy the adorable animals falling from the sky, the witches soon begin to grumble again. Delia summons further odd pairings from above, such as hats and clogs as well as bats and frogs. But nothing seems to work to keep everyone happy. Delia decides to cast one more spell—to return things to the way they were. Her chant brings back the rain, and the parade proceeds to the delight of all. “The floats began to float. The marching band learned synchronized swimming.” All is well, but the final page turn reveals a future weather conundrum. Colby’s playful spells encourage interactive participation, while repetition of key phrases adds a pleasing rhythm. Henry also gets the illustrations right, with mostly gray tones punctuated by muted greens, purples, and orange to display the kindly coven of green-skinned gals hovering on their brooms.
Share at Halloween or use as an example of playing with chants and rhymes. Perhaps this title will inspire many magical spells. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 11, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-04992-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
