A clever religious parable, playful in the telling.
Divided in their beliefs about what sort of cheese the moon is made from, three major factions in the mouse world plan a lunar mission to find out for certain in Creel’s picture book.
From the moment a mouse child first lays eyes upon the shining moon, he believes that the moon is made of cheese. That belief passes down through generations, and in time it leads to disagreement: What sort of cheese is it? Three major faiths emerge: the Cheddarics, the Swissologists, and Goudists, each with followers devout to the point of fanaticism. Still, they work together to send a rocket to the moon. There, three mouse representatives find...only dust and rocks. Many of the faithful back on Earth refuse to believe such blasphemy, but one mouse child decides it still loves the moon—whatever it might be made of. Creel and illustrator Kres concoct a fun little fable that will both amuse adults and encourage children to favor heartfelt faith over dogma. The book is divided between dark-backgrounded (with white text) two-page spreads that play to the moon’s mystical appeal and single-page white backgrounds (with black text) against which the mice squabble or plan their mission. The prose is refined and offers plenty of memorable lines. (“The Swissologists made their own announcement: ‘In the most holiness we believe!’”) Kres’ digital artwork offers serviceable landscapes and depicts mouse protagonists full of vitality and character.
A clever religious parable, playful in the telling.Pub Date: June 5, 2024
ISBN: 979-8869367044
Page Count: 38
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
A bit predictable but pleasantly illustrated.
Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault’s classic alphabet book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989) gets the Halloween treatment.
Chung follows the original formula to the letter. In alphabetical order, each letter climbs to the top of a tree. They are knocked back to the ground in a jumble before climbing up in sequence again. In homage to the spooky holiday theme, they scale a “creaky old tree,” and a ghostly jump scare causes the pileup. The chunky, colorful art is instantly recognizable. The charmingly costumed letters (“H swings a tail. / I wears a patch. J and K don / bows that don’t match”) are set against a dark backdrop, framed by pages with orange or purple borders. The spreads feature spiderwebs and jack-o’-lanterns. The familiar rhyme cadence is marred by the occasional clunky or awkward phrase; in particular, the adapted refrain of “Chicka chicka tricka treat” offers tongue-twisting fun, but it’s repeatedly followed by the disappointing half-rhyme “Everybody sneaka sneak.” Even this odd construction feels shoehorned into place, since “sneaking” makes little sense when every character in the book is climbing together. The final line of the book ends on a more satisfying note, with “Everybody—time to eat!”
A bit predictable but pleasantly illustrated. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: July 15, 2025
ISBN: 9781665954785
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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