A lovely evocation of Shabbat traditions.
Shabbat is always a welcome day of rest.
Farmer Simon and his ox, Shoshi, plow his land in the hills near Jerusalem for six days every week. Shabbat is a day to put work aside and take time for quiet pleasures with his grandchildren; it’s also a day of rest for Shoshi, who is rewarded with fresh hay and cool water. When Simon decides that he is too old to continue working his farm, he sells his ox to Yohanan, a recent arrival who does not understand his Jewish neighbors’ traditions. Shoshi works tirelessly with Yohanan for six days but each Shabbat refuses to move. Yohanan wonders if the ox is stubborn, lazy, or ill. But when he sees his children playing with Shoshi and notices Simon with his prayer shawl, he realizes that clever Shoshi knows that Shabbat means no work. So Yohanan embraces the tradition and makes Shabbat his day of rest, too. In an author’s note, Yacowitz states that the book is based on Rabbi Yohanan ben Torta, “a beloved teacher who lived in Israel almost two thousand years ago, when the Romans ruled the Holy Land” and who, according to lore, converted to Judaism after buying a cow from a Jewish farmer. The author employs simple, accessible language that roots the story in time and place, with believable, sympathetic characters. Hawkes’ detailed acrylic depictions of Shoshi’s and the brown-skinned humans’ facial and body expressions are humorous and thoroughly delightful. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A lovely evocation of Shabbat traditions. (author’s note) (Religious picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1654-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
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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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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