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ARGO & ME

A touching tale flawlessly told.

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A child and a dog with troubled pasts bond in this picture book.

Canine Argo and a young, unnamed human narrator both love playing, running, and cuddling on the couch. They also both lived in many other places before they got together. Argo once resided in an animal shelter, where he was very frightened until two employees made him feel safe. Although it’s not overtly stated, the child appears to have been in foster care; in one scene, the character is shown as a baby while two faceless adults argue in the background. The text is informative without being scary: “Some people I lived with before had big problems and didn’t always take good care of me.” When Argo chews up a beloved toy, the narrator explodes with anger until his family member (an unnamed adult) talks about the effects of Argo’s past. The child apologizes and the pair make amends: “He feels safe and loved,” the child says. “Just like me.” In less skilled hands, this story could have treacly undertones (or worse, be upsetting to kids), but Ghosh Ippen’s gentle, accessible text, paired with Erich Ippen Jr.’s expressive, full-color pen-and-watercolor illustrations, perfectly conveys the transformative power of patience, kindness, and love for those who’ve experienced trauma. The narrator is depicted as Black; adult characters have varying skin tones.

A touching tale flawlessly told.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-950168-18-7

Page Count: 29

Publisher: Piplo Productions

Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022

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CREEPY PAIR OF UNDERWEAR!

Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...

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Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.

Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.

Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017

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PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

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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