Sweet depictions of reassurance and friendship.
The anthropomorphic title character isolates himself to feel safe from the elements—until an unexpected visit from Mole.
Weasel’s friendly face, fluffy, rust-colored fur, and loose polka-dot necktie remove any prejudices some readers may have about his species. Indeed, he is innocently collecting fall leaves against a colorful, bucolic backdrop when “suddenly the weather changed.” The page turn shows, on the verso, two comical vignettes of Weasel trying to protect himself from a “nasty rain” by clamping a large leaf on his head and then falling “FLAT on his bottom” as a gust of wind hits him. Little viewers will giggle as Weasel tells the sky, “That’s ENOUGH of that nonsense!”—and is soon pelted with hail. They will also empathize with Weasel’s growing sense that he’s small and powerless. Weasel builds himself a snug, protective home, where he lives in isolation until, one day, he turns around to find Mole sitting on the blue sofa. The ensuing dialogue is first about Weasel’s insistence that his home is solely for safety and then about Mole’s insistence that there is plenty of fun to be had in the fortress. A particularly comical illustration shows the bespectacled Mole demonstrating his “scary face” to thwart foxes. Mole proceeds to turn Weasel’s concerns on their heads, demonstrating to Weasel—and readers—that “a different way of seeing things” can work wonders. A healthy range of vocabulary differentiates the two creatures’ divergent approaches to life.
Sweet depictions of reassurance and friendship. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 30, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68010-193-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
Good bedtime reading.
Only polar bears are allowed on Polar Bear Island, until Kirby, a friendly, creative penguin, arrives on the scene.
On the verso of the first double-page spread, large white lettering proclaims against an azure sky: “Polar Bear Island was peaceful and predictable. Parker, the mayor, planned to keep it that way.” Below, Parker—paint can in left paw—can be seen facing his sign: “Welcome to Polar Bear Island. No Others Allowed.” On the recto, Kirby floats into view on an ice floe, with hat, scarf, and overstuffed suitcase. When Kirby arrives, Parker grudgingly allows her an overnight stay. However, she soon proves her worth to the other bears; she has invented Flipper Slippers, which keep extremities warm and reverse from skates to snowshoes. Now Kirby is allowed to stay and help the bears make their own Flipper Slippers. When her family shows up with more inventions, Parker feels compelled to give them a week. (Presumably, the penguins have made the 12,430-mile-trip from the South Pole to the North Pole, characterized merely as “a long journey.”) A minor crisis permanently changes Parker’s attitudes about exclusivity. The text is accessible and good fun to read aloud. The weakness of the ostensible theme of granting welcome to newcomers lies in the fact that all the newcomers are immediately, obviously useful to the bears. The cartoonlike, scratchboard-ish graphics are lighthearted and full of anthropomorphic touches.
Good bedtime reading. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4549-2870-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
A forgettable tale.
Dot, the smallest reindeer at the North Pole, is too little to fly with the reindeer team on Christmas Eve, but she helps Santa in a different, unexpected way.
Dot is distressed because she can’t jump and fly like the other, bigger reindeer. Her family members encourage her and help her practice her skills, and her mother tells her, “There’s always next year.” Dot’s elf friend, Oliver, encourages her and spends time playing with her, doing things that Dot can do well, such as building a snowman and chasing their friend Yeti (who looks like a fuzzy, white gumdrop). On Christmas Eve, Santa and the reindeer team take off with their overloaded sleigh. Only Dot notices one small present that’s fallen in the snow, and she successfully leaps into the departing sleigh with the gift. This climactic flying leap into the sleigh is not adequately illustrated, as Dot is shown just starting to leap and then already in the sleigh. A saccharine conclusion notes that being little can sometimes be great and that “having a friend by your side makes anything possible.” The story is pleasant but predictable, with an improbably easy solution to Dot’s problem. Illustrations in a muted palette are similarly pleasant but predictable, with a greeting-card flavor that lacks originality. The elf characters include boys, girls, and adults; all the elves and Santa and Mrs. Claus are white.
A forgettable tale. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-338-15738-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
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