An idealized version of childhood that may be comforting to some readers but slow going for others.
A nostalgic middle-grade fiction debut by Wargel about a young girl living on a Midwestern farm with her parents and two brothers.
This slice-of life tale focuses on the weeks approaching fifth-grader Hattie Mae’s favorite holiday, Halloween, as she plans her costume for her school’s annual parade. Her excitement mounts because this year, the school will be giving awards for the best costumes. Hattie always dresses as a witch, as her friends remind her. But this year, she decides to pair with her friend, Charlot, to try something new after seeing her youth-group friends perform as the “Pleasant Hill Porkettes.” (Esmerelda, her farm’s pig, also has 10 new piglets, which further inspires Hattie.) With the assistance of Hattie Mae’s mother, the girls craft unique pig costumes. But when priggish teacher Mrs. Pinchly disapproves of Hattie Mae’s daring use of brassieres as udders, it makes the girl doubt her costume choice. But although the girl is embarrassed and shocked by the chastisement, it merely delays the story’s happy ending. This chapter book effectively introduces a way of life that many middle-graders haven’t experienced—living on a working farm in a rural community where church youth groups are important components of social life. Wargel also includes photographs of her family from her own childhood, and a few questions at the end of the book show her interest in further engaging her readers. Hattie is a determinedly average heroine, but she does show a glimmer of creativity and daring. However, other than the aforementioned scene with Mrs. Pinchly, there’s a curious lack of conflict in the story, which may bore some middle graders. The text features a few appealing images by debut illustrator Mugisha, which help date the events of the book, but Hattie Mae’s name and quaint lifestyle suggest a less modern setting than the images do.
An idealized version of childhood that may be comforting to some readers but slow going for others.Pub Date: Nov. 19, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-5033-0329-4
Page Count: 74
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: July 11, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property.
Since a reformed Grinch is hardly any fun, this follow-up Grinches him up once more.
Those seeking more of the same, prepare to receive precisely that. Christmas is coming (again!), and the Grinch can hardly wait. He’s been patient all year, and now he can finally show the Whos down in Who-ville how much he’s changed. When the Grinch learns of a tree-decorating contest, he figures that if he wins, it’ll prove he truly has the Christmas spirit. He throws himself into the task, but when it comes time to judge the trees, the Grinch is horrified to discover that he’s received only the second-place trophy. Can Cindy-Lou Who find the words to save the day? Replicating many of the original beats and wordplay of the original, this tale feels like less a sequel and more like a vaguely rewritten variation. Meanwhile, Ruiz’s art seeks to bridge the gap between the animated Chuck Jones version of the Grinch and the one depicted in the original book. This thankless task results in a strange uncanny valley between Seuss and Jones but does allow the artist a chance to colorize everything and lend some racial diversity to the Who population (Cindy-Lou is light-skinned). (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9780593563168
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
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