Funny, energetic, and empowering.
Jelly dips tentacles into interactive, metafictive waters in a series of encounters with things thorny, toothy, and, well, dangerous.
This picture-book spinoff from the immensely popular graphic novels about a goofy narwhal and an anxious jellyfish sees Jelly flying solo. Alarmed by the title and declaring, “I don’t do dangerous,” Jelly looks for a way out. An amusing batch of signs (“Stop,” “Beware,” “Nope”) in bright colors against the sea-blue background point in multiple directions, offering no help. Jelly admonishes readers to be quiet (“not a squeak or a peep”) so as not to wake a trio of sea serpents sleeping nearby (they wake up, grinning menacingly) and then cautions readers not to touch the sunken cannon hidden in the seaweed (cue the explosion). As Jelly flies through the air, nearby objects offer only prickly surfaces for landing. “I don’t know which is more dangerous, you or this book!” says Jelly, red-faced and scowling. Jelly eludes a pirate—a large red crab sporting a comical pencil mustache and a tiny pirate hat—only to swim into the jaws of a shark. Fortunately, a bottle with the frightening label “Dangerously Hot Hot Sauce” provides a solution. This exhilarating adventure comes to a satisfactory conclusion as Jelly finds a safe harbor with friend Narwhal, who offers waffles and a big smile. Clanton’s now-familiar boisterously cartoonish illustrations are appealing; youngsters will enjoy feeling both a little bit dangerous and in charge of their reading experience.
Funny, energetic, and empowering. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9781774886564
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
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BOOK REVIEW
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