Viable the premise may be, but here it’s more a rough draft than a finished story.
The prospect of getting a superhero’s cape for his birthday rocks Mateo’s world.
An ineptly handled misunderstanding sends this wild rumpus spiraling into the ground. When Grandma tells him on the phone that she’s made him “a red velvet—” Mateo doesn’t need to hear the rest: off he sails in his superhero jammies to envision himself walking his dog, Alonzo, using his new cape in school at recess and to fly to the restroom, and inviting all his friends to a super costume party. Come the party, his big sister’s announcement before all of his friends that Grandma isn’t bringing him a cape but a “red velvet CAKE!” brings Mateo crashing down in flames. But when he sadly opens Grandma’s gift box what should be inside? Yes, a big, bright, splendid cape! In the illustrations, Sullivan surrounds his broadly grinning black-haired, pale-skinned lad with racially diverse peers and captures the overall mood of giddy excitement with exuberant pen and brushwork. He doesn’t, however, give readers any clue to how the “cape/cake” confusion came about. Plainly, Mateo’s sister has some explaining to do, but she abruptly vanishes from the pictures, and neither Mateo nor his parents show any interest in clearing it up. Nor will the highly abbreviated instructions for making a personal cape at the end distract puzzled readers from wondering what just happened.
Viable the premise may be, but here it’s more a rough draft than a finished story. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Feb. 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-58536-393-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2017
While this is not an essential purchase, most little pumpkins will love being told, “Baby, I'm batty for you!” (Board book....
Young children won't understand the metaphors but will appreciate the sentiment made clear by the repeated, Halloween-themed declarations of love in Wan's latest board book.
Each of the seven spreads presents an endearment illustrated by an object drawn with heavy outlines and just enough detail to invoke its essential characteristics. Lest it become too maudlin, between the “sugary, sweet candy corn” and a “purr-fect, cuddly kitty” is a “wild, messy monster.” Wan manages to make each drawing expressive and distinctive while relying on just a few shapes—crescents or circles for eyes, dots or ovals accenting cheeks. Although each spread stands alone, there are quiet connections. For example, the orange of the pumpkin is repeated in the candy corn, and the purple that adorns kitty's hat and bow becomes the prominent color on the next spread, setting off the friendly white ghost nicely. The same purple is used for the spider's body on the next to last spread. Subtle, shadowed backgrounds repeat the patterns found elsewhere in the book. For example, the background of the page with the kitty includes pumpkins, hearts, and hats and bows like the ones kitty is wearing.
While this is not an essential purchase, most little pumpkins will love being told, “Baby, I'm batty for you!” (Board book. 6 mos.-3)Pub Date: June 28, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-88092-3
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
Younger readers will wish that they could toss their heads…or at least that they knew someone who could.
A lonely zombie makes new friends just by being herself—on Halloween.
Quelled by Auntie Departed’s warnings, young Ghoulia has always confined her outdoor play to the walled grounds of Crumbling Manor…until she eavesdrops on some living children and learns about Halloween. Taking advantage of this perfect opportunity to fit in, she sneaks out with her albino greyhound (and gifted hairdresser), Tragedy, for some trick-or-treating. Hearing her name as “Julia,” the costumed children welcome her. But when they compete to see who’s the scariest, Ghoulia forgets herself and does her “special scary move,” tossing her head in the air and catching it in one hand. The children stand wide-eyed through no fewer than three illustrations on three successive pages—and then welcome her with wild delight and agree to keep her secret from the grown-ups. From then on they become regular visitors to Crumbling Manor. In full-color pictures that take up all or most of every page, Cantini depicts her undead urchin Tim Burton–style, with stitched lips, gray skin, and purple shadows beneath huge eyeballs (everyone else appears white—or sheet white). Assisted by suggestive labels (“Creaky steps”; “A spider visiting from the attic”; “Painting of Grandad Coffin”), the manorial setting has an Addams Family vibe and provides just the right spooky setting for this series opener. Halloween-themed activities are included in the backmatter.
Younger readers will wish that they could toss their heads…or at least that they knew someone who could. (Fantasy. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3293-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
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