For families interested in revisiting a favorite Christmas theme.
An Alpine village is the setting for a retelling of the story behind this Christmas carol.
As day breaks over the mountains, a homeless, orphan boy named Benjamin plays his drum outdoors. When travelers invite Benjamin to accompany them to honor a newborn king, he declines, having nothing to bring and ashamed of his shabby appearance. His friend Rachel convinces him to go along with her. She too is dressed in ragged clothes but tells him, “It does not matter….He will not look at our clothes, only into our hearts.” As the villagers gather by the stable, Benjamin plays his drum. Soft pastels create a beautiful atmosphere with light glittering from a star overhead and the golden glow of hearths below. Nonetheless, some of the charm of the carol is lost by the expansion of the lyrics into a full story with named characters. The song, with its soft, repetitive refrain and first-person perspective, leaves room for the imagination to fill in the emotional range of a magical experience. This feels a bit forced, especially with the addition of Rachel, who has her own gift as well as the volition that Benjamin lacks. Benjamin, Rachel, and the rest of the characters present white. Backmatter includes a brief biography of the Brothers Grimm although there’s no discernible attribution or connection to the song or story.
For families interested in revisiting a favorite Christmas theme. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4325-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers.
The bestselling series (How to Catch an Elf, 2016, etc.) about capturing mythical creatures continues with a story about various ways to catch the Easter Bunny as it makes its annual deliveries.
The bunny narrates its own story in rhyming text, beginning with an introduction at its office in a manufacturing facility that creates Easter eggs and candy. The rabbit then abruptly takes off on its delivery route with a tiny basket of eggs strapped to its back, immediately encountering a trap with carrots and a box propped up with a stick. The narrative focuses on how the Easter Bunny avoids increasingly complex traps set up to catch him with no explanation as to who has set the traps or why. These traps include an underground tunnel, a fluorescent dance floor with a hidden pit of carrots, a robot bunny, pirates on an island, and a cannon that shoots candy fish, as well as some sort of locked, hazardous site with radiation danger. Readers of previous books in the series will understand the premise, but others will be confused by the rabbit’s frenetic escapades. Cartoon-style illustrations have a 1960s vibe, with a slightly scary, bow-tied bunny with chartreuse eyes and a glowing palette of neon shades that shout for attention.
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3817-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
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