A well-illustrated, if somewhat underdeveloped, story about appreciating what one has.
In Neumann’s illustrated children’s book, a young porcupine yearns for a birthday party but learns to appreciate spending time with her loving family.
This tale, a follow-up to I Don’t Celebrate Anything! (2020), again features a child whose parents have an unconventional outlook when it comes to celebrations. Annie’s friend Rhonda had a birthday party a week ago—a rousing affair at Mt. Pork Ranch at which Rhonda dressed as a “western princess.” Annie didn’t go, though, because her “family doesn’t do birthday parties,” which embarrasses the youngster and makes her angry, as she makes clear to Julie, a new girl at school with whom Annie shares a birthday. The two make plans to get together on their special day, although Annie continues to wish that she could have a celebration of her own. The day before their shared birthday, Julie visits Annie’s home, marveling at her Princess Porky Doll, her wall of other dolls, and the cookies that Annie and her mother made. Annie notes that her family goes on a road trip every year, and Julie is envious. The next day, Annie spends her eighth birthday with her family and has a good time despite having no party. Julie, by contrast, has a less-than-ideal birthday-party experience, and Annie realizes that time with loved ones is the best gift of all. Neumann provides young readers with a tale that has a simple but worthwhile message: When you wish you had something else, you just might miss what you already have. However, some youngsters may find the text to be a bit sparse even for such a straightforward narrative; newcomers to the series may also wish that Annie’s family’s aversion to birthday parties were more fully explained. However, Rusu’s dynamic, lush full-color illustrations give the story additional depth, offering clear depictions of various events.
A well-illustrated, if somewhat underdeveloped, story about appreciating what one has.Pub Date: July 7, 2022
ISBN: 9781956019810
Page Count: 60
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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