This restrained, thoughtful story effectively captures some of the contradictory emotions a child may feel during the...
A boy named Fritz selects and decorates a Christmas tree in this quiet tale of enjoying the holiday as a family.
Fritz, his parents, and their dog drive out to the country to cut down a Christmas tree together, presumably for the first time, judging from the level of excitement in the text: “It’s a real tree!” Back home, Fritz is in charge of decorating the tree and soon discovers there aren’t enough ornaments for their huge tree. He “makes an amazing discovery—almost anything can be an ornament!” Fritz adds toys, drawings, and gingerbread cookies to the tree, making it his own creation. The family’s Christmas celebrations are centered on the tree, and Fritz is saddened when the holiday season is over and the dried-out tree must be taken away to be chipped. He overcomes his melancholy by keeping one small, bare branch for his bedside table, decorating it with a few special items. The understated text doesn’t point out that Fritz has learned how to keep the Christmas spirit alive, but that message is conveyed in a subtle and original way. Subdued ink-and-watercolor illustrations use cool tones and hazy backgrounds to create a quiet atmosphere with mysterious overtones. There’s a bittersweet sense that the magic of the Christmas season can’t last, underscored by the litter of dead needles left behind by the tree, but it is countered by Fritz’s ingenuity.
This restrained, thoughtful story effectively captures some of the contradictory emotions a child may feel during the Christmas season. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7556-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series.
Another creature is on the loose.
The long-running series continues its successful formula with this Hallmark card of a book, which features bright illustrations and catchy rhymes. This time, the mythical creature the racially diverse children set out to catch is an absent mom who does it all (lists of descriptors include the words banker, caregiver, nurse, doctor, driver, chef, housekeeper, teacher, entertainer, playmate, laundry service, problem solver, handywoman, cleaner, and alarm clock) but doesn’t seem to have a job outside the home and is inexplicably a dinosaur. As the children prepare gifts and a meal for her, the text becomes an ode to the skills the Mamasaurus possesses (“Day or night she’s always there. / She meets every wish and need”) and values she instills (“Sometimes life can mean hard work,” “kindness matters,” and “what counts is doing your best”). This well-intentioned selection veers into cliche generously sprinkled with saccharine but manages to redeem itself with its appreciation for mothers and all that they may do. Endpapers include a “to” and “from” page framed in a heart, as well as a page where young gift givers or recipients can draw a picture of their Mamasaurus.
A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781728274300
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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