Perfect for kids who feel that Christmas books are insufficiently scary.
Gemeinhart, author of The Gingerbread Monster (2025), returns with another creepy baking-disaster story.
‘Tis the night before Christmas, and North Pole elf Ella knows that her fellow elves are ravenous, so she steps up the pace with her baking. Unfortunately, she doesn’t see a “a tuft of white fur blow into the batter.” That piece of fur, combined with spice and “the magic of Santa,” creates “a dough far more naughty than nice.” The batter is poured into a gingerbread man–shaped mold and begins baking…only to become an “abominable doughman” who busts out of the oven and shouts, “Flee, Fly, Dough, Crumb! / Yeti or not, here I come!” The yeti launches a campaign of terror, so everyone runs: “The elvish stampede with Ella in the rear / stumbled into the stables and nine tiny reindeer.” (That’s not the book’s only rhythmically challenged rhyme.) Now the yeti is after the reindeer, too! Who’s going to save the reindeer and elves (and Christmas)? (Hint: He’s jolly.) This book has the same resolution and message—even bad guys have feelings—as its predecessor. For his classic-TV-animation-style art, Cuellar takes the same enjoyably anarchic approach to his palette that Ella takes to her baking. A concluding recipe for gingerbread yeti cookies sweetens the deal. Ella’s pale-skinned; the other elves vary in complexion.
Perfect for kids who feel that Christmas books are insufficiently scary. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2026
ISBN: 9781250356765
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026
This frenetic ode to fatherhood is predictable fare but may please series fans.
It’s time to look for the elusive Daddysaurus.
In this latest installment in the seemingly never-ending series about a group of diverse kids attempting to trap mythical creatures, the youngsters are now on the lookout for a big mauve dinosaur with an emblazoned D on his stomach and a superhero cape. The fast-moving Daddysaurus is always on the go; he will be difficult to catch. Armed with blueprints of possible ideas, the kids decide which traps to set. As in previous works, ones of the sticky variety seem popular. They cover barbells with fly paper (Daddysaurus like to exercise) and spread glue on the handle of a shovel (Daddysaurus also likes to garden). One clever trick involves tempting Daddysaurus with a drawing of a hole, taped to the wall, because he fixes everything that breaks. Daddysaurus is certainly engaged in the children’s lives, not a workaholic or absent, but he does fall into some standard tropes associated with fathers. The rhyming quatrains stumble at times but for the most part bounce along. Overall, though, text and art feel somewhat formulaic and likely will tempt only devotees of the series. The final page of the book (after Daddysaurus is caught with love) has a space for readers to write a note or draw a picture of their own Daddysaurus. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
This frenetic ode to fatherhood is predictable fare but may please series fans. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-72826-618-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
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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
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