Fans of the Magnolia Says Don’t! series and of mild chaos will get a kick out of this.
A rollicking adventure awaits as Magnolia races into a store with her Christmas list trailing behind her.
In the vein of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, this cumulative story explains why “pirates are on the naughty list.” Magnolia is superexcited to meet Santa at the mall. The little girl decides to let a “bearded guy with a red suit and a bag full of treasures” who is definitely not Santa (he’s fishing pennies out of a fountain) join her family in the long line, promising her father that she’ll teach the pirate some manners. There’ll be no pillaging or plundering in the Santa line! But the pirate isn’t interested in manners. He bellows, “OOOOOOOOOH! / A hog-eye ship! And a hog-eye crew! / A hog-eye mate! And a skipper too!” at the top of his lungs, alarming the other people in line. The pirate is highly entertaining, the father oblivious, and the wait seemingly endless. But Magnolia takes charge until the pirate “changes his scurvy ways.” Fun, brightly colored illustrations (digitally drawn and painted) are perfect for the cartoonlike characters with exaggerated features. Varied perspectives amp the silliness high. The pirate epitomizes the conflicted feelings of a kid wanting to be patient and good so that their parents will reward them and bursting out with loud, bad behavior because they just can’t sit still. Magnolia, who appears to be Asian, is the oldest sibling in her interracial family; both Santa and the pirate present white.
Fans of the Magnolia Says Don’t! series and of mild chaos will get a kick out of this. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-46677-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Effectively captures the excitement surrounding Valentine’s Day.
A collection of poems follows a group of elementary school students as they prepare for and celebrate Valentine’s Day.
One student starts the day by carefully choosing clothing in pink, purple, or red, while a family kicks off the morning with a breakfast of red, heart-shaped pancakes. At school, children create valentines until party time finally arrives with lots of yummy treats. The students give valentines to their school friends, of course, but we also see one child making a “special delivery” to a pet, a stuffed animal, family members, and even the crossing guard. The poems also extend the Valentine’s celebration to the community park, where other couples—some older, one that appears to be same-sex—are struck by cupid’s “magical love arrows.” Note the child running away: “Blech!” Not everyone wants to “end up in love!!!” But the spread devoted to Valentine’s jokes will please readers more interested in humor than in romance and inspire children to create their own jokes. To make the celebration complete, the last pages of the book contain stickers and a double-sided “BEE MINE!” valentine that readers can, with adult help, cut out. Cheery and kid-friendly, the poems can be read independently or from cover to cover as a full story. The cartoonish illustrations include lots of hearts and emphasize the growing Valentine’s Day excitement, depicting a diverse classroom that includes students who use wheelchairs. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Effectively captures the excitement surrounding Valentine’s Day. (Picture-book poetry. 4-6)Pub Date: Dec. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-38717-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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