Heartwarming and cozy.
It’s Carla’s favorite night of the year—Christmas Eve—but will one mistake ruin everything?
Carla loves everything about Christmas Eve, when she, her mom, and her sister drive to her grandparents’ house for “the best holiday ever: Christmas!” Her favorite part of the drive is the sight of twinkling lights on the houses, and her favorite thing to eat is Granny’s cornbread. She watches Granny pour the batter into the cast iron skillet and put it in the oven. She sits with her Grandpa, whom everyone calls “Doc,” while they wait. They talk about where Santa is, and Doc shares stories of his time in France. Dinner is delicious, though the Christmas feast will be much bigger. After putting her pajamas on, Carla sees a perfect sugar cookie sitting on a plate—and she takes a big bite. Her sister yells, “That’s Santa’s cookie!” Oh, no. How can Carla rescue Christmas from this big mistake? Granny has an idea, and it hinges on Carla’s favorite food. With expressive illustrations that set the story in the early 1970s and evoke the Christmas mood in the context of a loving Black family, this tale reminds readers that love and good intentions can almost always save the day. Readers will be eager to try out the cornbread recipe included in the endmatter. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Heartwarming and cozy. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-534-49469-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Denene Millner Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 10, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note.
Little Honey Bunny Funnybunny loves baseball almost as much as she loves her big brother P.J.—though it’s a close-run thing.
Readers familiar with the pranks P.J. plays on his younger sibling in older episodes of the series (most illustrated by Roger Bollen) will be amused—and perhaps a little confused—to see him in the role of perfect big brother after meeting his swaddled little sister for the first time in mama’s lap. But here, along with being a constant companion and “always happy to see her,” he cements his heroic status in her eyes by hitting a home run for his baseball team and then patiently teaching her how to play T-ball. After carefully coaching her and leading her through warm-up exercises, he even sits in the stands, loudly cheering her on as she scores the winning run in her own very first game. “‘You are the best brother a bunny could ever have!’” she burbles. This tale’s a tad blander compared with others centered on P.J. and his sister, but it’s undeniably cheery, with text well structured for burgeoning readers. The all-smiles animal cast in Bowers’ cartoon art features a large and diversely hued family of bunnies sporting immense floppy ears as well as a multispecies crowd of furry onlookers equally varied of color, with one spectator in a wheelchair.
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note. (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9798217032464
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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