This out-of-this-world adventure proves that with good friends and happy thoughts, any dream can be realized.
What will happen when Ant wants to follow her dreams but Hat wants to follow the rules?
Ant has a dream in which her mother tells her to visit her cousins on the moon. Her roommates, Dog and a talking green hat, had already been planning a picnic in honor of the upcoming lunar eclipse, so Dog proposes moving their get-together to the moon. Skeptical Hat tells them that’s impossible, but, as Dog points out, “Everything is impossible if you don’t try.” The trio head upstairs to Bunny Dream’s apartment (being from Dreamland, Bunny “does things a little differently”), where they’re initially stopped by Steven, a stern porcine guard; some wonderfully wacky M.C. Escher–esque sequences ensue. With a bit of moon magic, a long climb up a ladder made of ants, and a willingness to flout Steven’s strict regulations, they arrive on the moon and enjoy eclipse celebrations like dinosaur races, a moon maze, and a moon crumb-eating contest. Rule-follower Hat has a hard time adjusting to the madcap world of the moon but eventually loosens up. Moon magic, it seems, is positive thinking. Silly jokes (“How does the moon cut its hair?” “Eclipse it!”), philosophical wisdom (“But if you believe anything is possible, then it becomes true. Nothing is impossible!”), and chaotic, bright illustrations abound. A few facts about lunar eclipses and the moon pop up, though this wonderfully surreal outing is grounded more in magic than in science.
This out-of-this-world adventure proves that with good friends and happy thoughts, any dream can be realized. (Graphic fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: May 23, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-79720-689-9
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
Extraordinary introductory terror, beautiful to the eye and sure to delight younger horror enthusiasts.
What terrors lurk within your mouth? Jasper Rabbit knows.
“You have stumbled your way into the unknown.” The young bunny introduced in Reynolds and Brown’s Caldecott Honor–winning picture book, Creepy Carrots (2012), takes up Rod Serling’s mantle, and the fit is perfect. Mimicking an episode of The Twilight Zone, the book follows Charlie Marmot, an average kid with a penchant for the strange and unusual. He’s pleased when his tonsils become infected; maybe once they’re out he can take them to school for show and tell! That’s when bizarre things start to happen: Noises in the night. Slimy trails on his bedroom floor. And when Charlie goes in for his surgery, he’s told that the tonsils have disappeared from his throat; clearly something sinister is afoot. Those not yet ready for Goosebumps levels of horror will find this a welcome starter pack. Reynolds has perfected the tension he employed in his Creepy Tales! series, and partner in crime Brown imbues each illustration with both humor and a delicate undercurrent of dark foreshadowing. While the fleshy pink tonsils—the sole spot of color in this black-and-white world—aren’t outrageously gross, there’s something distinctly disgusting about them. And though the book stars cute, furry woodland creatures, the spooky surprise ending is 100% otherworldly—a marvelous moment of twisted logic.
Extraordinary introductory terror, beautiful to the eye and sure to delight younger horror enthusiasts. (Early chapter book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781665961080
Page Count: 88
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
PERSPECTIVES
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