A mawkish, unremarkable story.
It’s fall, the apples are ripe, and Max Mouse, eager to have an Apple Party, plans to pick some from a tree in the clearing.
When Max and his friend Henry Hedgehog arrive, the apples are gone. To make matters worse, they discover that their friend Rico Dormouse took them all and doesn’t plan to share them. He picked them all by himself and, for that reason, claims the rights to them. Dejectedly, Max shuts himself into his home. His other friends join forces, deciding that they can have a party with other treats, such as pancakes and apricot lemonade, and they gather the ingredients to do so. Rico apologizes for his greed and shares his apples, so everyone gathers together for an apple pancake party. Much about this story is excessively sweet and sentimental. Many of the animals’ names are cutesily alliterative; Max sprinkles sugar on pancakes at their party and calls it Friendship Powder (“with friendship powder, everything we eat together tastes even sweeter”); the animals sing a song about how sharing is “fun to do”; and sobbing Henry must be convinced that he has something to contribute to the party. The illustrations of these anthropomorphic creatures in muted shades also tend toward preciousness; the animals are all diminutive with button noses (or beaks). Even the book’s title typeface is exceptionally bouncy and cute. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11.5-by-17.4-inch double-page spreads viewed at 94.2% of actual size.)
A mawkish, unremarkable story. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-6626-5007-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.
All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.
Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
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
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