Unlikely to become a classic.
As he did in Five Little Pumpkins (1998) and Five Little Bunnies (2016), Yaccarino revisits the familiar fingerplay formula and links it to a holiday.
Santa's elves are packing the “sled” (not sleigh) and anticipating Santa's round-the-world journey. The green elves, though smiling, look ghoulish, almost evil, especially the one with sharp pointy glasses. They resemble the characters in some of Yaccarino's illustrated texts for older children, such as Delivery of Doom (2014), which is fine for intergalactic pizza deliverers but not the kind of introduction likely to make a toddler happy to meet the mall Santa for the requisite photo op. In contrast, the children who receive the presents have the innocence of Yaccarino’s Doug Unplugged (2013) characters. The whole package is a mixed bag. The text starts out simply enough, with “Five little elves sitting on a sled.” By the fourth elf's line (“We bring great joy to every little girl and boy”), the text is too long and the scansion is awkward. Although they don't follow any predictable order, it is clear which elf is speaking, as it’s the only one with an open mouth. Toddlers raised on television graphics may find these elves appealing, and adults may find it useful when they just can't face another reading of “The Night Before Christmas.”
Unlikely to become a classic. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-225338-5
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HarperFestival
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Useful for both Jewish families and others seeking to give children a head start on religious pluralism
In brief board-book form Newman revisits the familiar Hanukkah traditions she successfully introduced in Eight Nights of Chanukah, illustrated by Elivia Savadier (2005), and Here Is the World, illustrated by Susan Gal (2014).
Here the holiday stands on its own without parodying a Christmas tune or being lost in a compendium of the Jewish year. Of course, a board book has space for much less information. The essential ingredients of the celebration—candles, blessings, latkes, dreidels, and gelt—are mentioned in nine lines of text that all rhyme with “delight.” The finer points of theology, including the miracle Hanukkah commemorates, are left for older children to learn from experience, their own reading, or stories told round the holiday table. The fun is in the detailed pictures. Husband uses cheerful, well-dressed bunnies to depict a family as they celebrate the Jewish holiday American gentiles know best. Some subtle stereotypes still creep in. The family consists of papa, mama, big sister, and baby. A crocodile in a tie and a portly and bespectacled owl are among the friends. The males all wear yarmulkes, and the females all wear dresses. Otherwise they are just like anyone else who can be depicted as talking animals.
Useful for both Jewish families and others seeking to give children a head start on religious pluralism . (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4677-9353-7
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Nice enough but far from a requisite purchase.
A die-cut board book with a simple presentation of the Christmas theme for the youngest ones.
On the cover, a snowman with a die-cut tummy introduces the theme. Layered behind the round, open circle that makes up his body, readers can glimpse pieces of the pages inside. Open the book and meet the well-known elements of a shopping-mall-secular Christmas celebration: reindeer, elf, bag, presents, sleigh, boots, Mrs. Claus, Santa Claus, Christmas tree, Christmas Eve. The elf and both the Clauses are white. The illustrations are colorful and cheery, but the die cuts are at times problematic. For example, two little circles represent buttons for several figures, including the snowman and Santa’s jacket, but appear as baffling holes on a Christmas present and the sleigh. Though the snowman’s body is cleverly built up from the pages behind it, the big open circle means the body of the reindeer on the next page is just an empty void. That empty void carries through on the left-hand pages, and when it gets to Mrs. Claus, it is an awkward empty space between her knees and her tummy. Still, babies will enjoy the transformations occurring as they turn the pages, and the peekaboo element inherent to die cuts is always sure to please.
Nice enough but far from a requisite purchase. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0344-0
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
