Dear Hedgehug eagerly anticipates Valentine's Day. But when he goes out, heart in hand, he finds his loving gestures are quite unwelcome. Pinto's first story comes from a set of drawings he made that later became a film. Now that film has been adapted into this picture book. There are books aplenty about hedgehogs and other prickly creatures having difficulty finding love. But the childlike, painterly look of the illustrations, along with Hedgehug's sweet determination, just may motivate readers to make room for this tale. Hedgehug appears so swept up in the excitement of sharing his valentine heart that he does not take time to properly get to know the objects of his rather instantaneous affection. Doris the Bunny and Edie the Owl are quite rude. With an "OUCH!" and an "ARGGGGHHH!", they rebuff his spiky embrace and reject his "stupid" and "silly" heart. Alone and dejected, he looks up to find a fearsome boar that delivers a loud "THUMP." Poor Hedgehug's heart is crumpled, and he learns a sharp lesson that "Love hurts." All seems lost until thick-skinned Hannah the armadillo appears on the scene. She has patched up the seemingly ruined valentine, which now reads, "i think you're special! P.S. I like your spikes." With just enough heart-beating action and well-placed sound effects, this could become a new holiday favorite for preschoolers still puzzling out how to best share their own feelings. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 9780061961014
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
Cookie-cutter predictability.
After all the daring escapes in the How To Catch… series, will the kids be able to catch Santa?
Oddly, previous installments saw the children trying (and failing) to catch an elf and a reindeer, but both are easily captured in this story. Santa, however, is slippery. Tempted but not fooled by poinsettias, a good book (attached to a slingshot armed with a teddy bear projectile), and, of course, milk and cookies, Santa foils every plan. The hero in a red suit has a job to do. Presents must be placed, and lists must be checked. He has no time for traps and foolery (except if you’re the elf, who falls for every one of them). Luckily, Santa helps the little rascal escape each time. Little is new here—the kids resort to similar snares found in previous works: netting, lures, and technological wonders such as the Santa Catcher 5000. Although the rhythm falters quite a bit (“How did we get out you ask? / It looked like we were done for. / Santa’s magic is very real, / and I cannot reveal more”), fans of the series may not mind. Santa and Christmas just might be enough to overcome the flaws. Santa and the elf are light-skinned, one of the children is brown-skinned, and the other presents as Asian. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Cookie-cutter predictability. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781728274270
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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