The lively mischief will carry children past the narrative inconsistencies in this fun-filled romp
Reid turns her Plasticine talents to an interpretation of the classic poem.
Taking her cue from “not even a mouse,” she focuses her visual narrative on a mouse family that inhabits a cozy, snow-covered log. Though the busyness of its inhabitants betrays that many creatures are actually stirring, readers are likely to forgive this artistic license. They will be too busy poring over the detail-filled spreads to carp. A harassed mouse parent has a swaddled babe under one arm and vainly tries to keep another from playing with the Christmas stockings with the other. Far from being “nestled / all snug in their beds,” these mouselings are raising a rumpus, climbing about on their bunk beds and tossing sugarplums at one another. Santa’s approach is spectacular, pairs of Plasticine reindeer increasing in size to accentuate perspective as they pull a tiny mouse Santa aloft while a fox looks up from below. The jovial Santa is appropriately round, though he has just a faint hint of white chin whiskers. Apparently oblivious to the onlooking mouse family, he stuffs the stockings before departing—as the mouse children scamper back into bed to avoid being caught out by mama and papa.
The lively mischief will carry children past the narrative inconsistencies in this fun-filled romp . (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8075-5625-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Let these crayons go back into their box.
The Crayons return to celebrate Easter.
Six crayons (Red, Orange, Yellow, Esteban, who is green and wears a yellow cape, White, and Blue) each take a shape and scribble designs on it. Purple, perplexed and almost angry, keeps asking why no one is creating an egg, but the six friends have a great idea. They take the circle decorated with red shapes, the square adorned with orange squiggles “the color of the sun,” the triangle with yellow designs, also “the color of the sun” (a bit repetitious), a rectangle with green wavy lines, a white star, about which Purple remarks: “DID you even color it?” and a rhombus covered with blue markings and slap the shapes onto a big, light-brown egg. Then the conversation turns to hiding the large object in plain sight. The joke doesn’t really work, the shapes are not clear enough for a concept book, and though colors are delineated, it’s not a very original color book. There’s a bit of clever repartee. When Purple observe that Esteban’s green rectangle isn’t an egg, Esteban responds, “No, but MY GOSH LOOK how magnificent it is!” Still, that won’t save this lackluster book, which barely scratches the surface of Easter, whether secular or religious. The multimedia illustrations, done in the same style as the other series entries, are always fun, but perhaps it’s time to retire these anthropomorphic coloring implements. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Let these crayons go back into their box. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-62105-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
A disjointed read that nevertheless will elicit warm seasonal feelings.
In this picture book based on Gold’s popular song, a group of costumed children shriek and screech on Halloween.
Youngsters wearing skeleton outfits assemble and prepare for spooky fun. They imagine themselves as the real deal—bones come to life—while getting ready and posing for photos. As they trick-or-treat, they surprise other members of the community. Later, they put on a silly performance, with actual skeletons joining in, before heading home for some hard-earned rest. Adults familiar with the hit tune—which was recorded in 1996 and has since gone viral on social media—might pick up this one based on that recognition. The illustrations loosely take inspiration from the lyrics and serve as the primary driver for the storytelling. They make excellent use of fall colors and exude a sunset glow that truly evokes Halloween. Sometimes the text and visuals align, but at other times the images tell the story independently: Gold’s goofy lyrics describe skeletons rising from their sarcophagi to “send shiiiiivers down your spine” and “SHOCK your soul,” while the gentle visuals mostly focus on trick-or-treating, with real skeletons occasionally jumping into the fray. The result is a muddled—though still enjoyable—reading experience. Most human characters are light-skinned, though people of color appear as well.
A disjointed read that nevertheless will elicit warm seasonal feelings. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2024
ISBN: 9780593903049
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
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