An introduction to the seasons with well-paced rhyming text, gentle humor, and visual charm.
A pair of pugs in parkas parades through the seasons in this picture book.
“It’s the first day of spring! / Flowers stretch toward the sun / as a couple of pugs venture out for a run.” In this jaunty rhyming tale from Stevenson and Spicer—whose picture book collaborations include Oy, Elephants! (2019) and An Armadillo on My Pillow (2020)—two irrepressible pugs proudly set out through the seasons to show off their matching, hooded parkas. A flouncy dachshund and a “studious hound” question whether spring is an appropriate time to be wearing parkas. The pugs meet similar disapproval in the summer from sea gulls and a little girl at the beach; in the autumn, a bunny and a raccoon are unimpressed. But in the winter, the pugs’ new friends, a boy with brown skin and the now-appreciative girl with light skin from the beach, compliment the canines for their choice of cold-weather attire. Children will enjoy hearing Stevenson’s bouncy rhymes and picking out verbs and nouns in each verse that are enlarged in the text and set in different colors for emphasis. Spicer’s full-color depictions of the seasons provide attractive settings for the amusing pugs and the other expressive animal and human characters. A fun touch: The penultimate page switches from the book’s horizontal format, requiring children to turn the work for a dynamic vertical image of the pugs and their friends sledding downhill.
An introduction to the seasons with well-paced rhyming text, gentle humor, and visual charm.Pub Date: July 29, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-73482-420-9
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Pigs Fly Books
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes.
A lift-the-flap book gives the littlest trick-or-treaters some practice identifying partygoers under their costumes.
Little Blue Truck and his buddy Toad are off to a party, and they invite readers (and a black cat) along for the ride: “ ‘Beep! Beep! Beep!’ / says Little Blue. / ‘It’s Halloween!’ / You come, too.” As they drive, they are surprised (and joined) by many of their friends in costume. “Who’s that in a tutu / striking a pose / up on the tiniest / tips of her toes? / Under the mask / who do you see?” Lifting the flap unmasks a friend: “ ‘Quack!’ says the duck. / ‘It’s me! It’s me!’ ” The sheep is disguised as a clown, the cow’s a queen, the pig’s a witch, the hen and her chick are pirates, and the horse is a dragon. Not to be left out, Little Blue has a costume, too. The flaps are large and sturdy, and enough of the animals’ characteristic features are visible under and around the costumes that little ones will be able to make successful guesses even on the first reading. Lovely curvy shapes and autumn colors fade to dusky blues as night falls, and children are sure to notice the traditional elements of a Halloween party: apple bobbing, lit jack-o’-lanterns, and punch and treats.
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-77253-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
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Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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BOOK REVIEW
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