A warm, emotional tale, replete with comfort and acceptance, this secular selection is a strong choice for a child dealing...
A little girl grieves her beloved dog.
Sammy was a hound dog—possibly the best in the world. He loved his girl, and she loved him. Painter Wyeth’s realistic, evocative watercolors show Sammy and the girl sharing good times together, playing dress-up, sleeping curled up and blowing and chasing bubbles. When Sammy is diagnosed with an untreatable illness, the girl has to accept that they don’t have much time left. Her parents are gentle and kind and offer explanations to help the girl with her impending loss, but when Sammy dies, she is bereft. Sensitive, graceful text depicts her pain and traces her journey through dreams and thoughts as she finds ways of coping that help her to remember Sammy and celebrate his life. Sammy is still around the family in memory, and the girl catches a glimpse of a cloud that looks like him as the family blows bubbles on the beach and shares stories about their friend. Without anthropomorphizing, Wyeth gives coonhound Sammy all the personality a dog could want; the little girl is a latter-day Sal, complete with overalls.
A warm, emotional tale, replete with comfort and acceptance, this secular selection is a strong choice for a child dealing with death for the first time. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7636-4927-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2011
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available.
A ghost learns to appreciate his differences.
The little ghost protagonist of this title is unusual. He’s a quilt, not a lightweight sheet like his parents and friends. He dislikes being different despite his mom’s reassurance that his ancestors also had unconventional appearances. Halloween makes the little ghost happy, though. He decides to watch trick-or-treaters by draping over a porch chair—but lands on a porch rail instead. A mom accompanying her daughter picks him up, wraps him around her chilly daughter, and brings him home with them! The family likes his looks and comforting warmth, and the little ghost immediately feels better about himself. As soon as he’s able to, he flies out through the chimney and muses happily that this adventure happened only due to his being a quilt. This odd but gently told story conveys the importance of self-respect and acceptance of one’s uniqueness. The delivery of this positive message has something of a heavy-handed feel and is rushed besides. It also isn’t entirely logical: The protagonist could have been a different type of covering; a blanket, for instance, might have enjoyed an identical experience. The soft, pleasing illustrations’ palette of tans, grays, white, black, some touches of color, and, occasionally, white text against black backgrounds suggest isolation, such as the ghost feels about himself. Most humans, including the trick-or-treating mom and daughter, have beige skin. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-16.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 66.2% of actual size.)
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7352-6447-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
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