Dahlie (Henrietta, 1999) updates the classic Aesop fable with understated humor and delicately detailed watercolors. The reunion of the two very different cousins is sparked when Bernelly, a fly-fishing instructor who lives “west of the city in a small village that [has] everything a mouse could need—except a shoe shop,” discovers that her boot has “sprung a leak.” It’s the perfect excuse to visit Cousin Harriet in the city. A series of vignettes shows Bernelly, in knee-high black boots and jaunty red scarf, preparing for her journey. When she arrives at the station, Harriet, a famous artist dressed in periwinkle pumps and matching shawl, immediately sweeps her up: “ ‘Darling-Bernelly-so-good-to-see-you-I-have-missed-you-so,’ [she] said in all one breath.” This time, a series of vignettes shows the two traipsing all over town. By the time they find Bernelly’s boots, she’s exhausted. When Harriet asks if she now sees the superiority of city living, Bernelly snaps “No!” and invites Harriet to return to the country with her. “Perhaps it will inspire me,” says Harriet. But in scene after scene, Harriet appears hopeless. She tangles her line while fly-fishing, looks positively dismayed when Bernelly takes a nap under a tree, and appears bored to tears as the guests at Bernelly’s dinner party tell “tales of trout.” When Bernelly asks her what she thinks about life in the country, Harriet admits that it’s not quite her cup of tea. But she has found the inspiration she was seeking. The final illustration shows Harriet busily painting portraits of city landmarks. An endearing adaptation. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-316-60811-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2002
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
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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