In this inventive bedtime countdown, ten different insects—portrayed in sleepwear but with distinctive physical features, and even identified on the endpapers—drop off one by one around or inside a hollow tree: “Ten little sleepyheads / talking to their toys. / One falls asleep / in the middle of the noise.” Saaf animates the pages with movement and thickly applied color, giving the sleepy little ones human eyes and smiles, and filling the spaces they leave behind with oversized, soft-looking garden flowers. At last, only the firefly remains, “ . . . counting back from ten. Is he asleep? No? Well, here we go again!” Still-wakeful young listeners, if there are any, will be more than willing to take a repeat ride. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: April 1, 2005
ISBN: 1-58234-838-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2005
As a chronic worrier and an extremely anxious young mouse, life is hard for Wemberly. Her worries range from big life issues—what will she do if her parents disappear—to the mundane—what to do if she spills juice on her special doll Petal? Unfortunately her parents, although concerned, are not much help, merely telling her to stop worrying so much, rather than teaching her how to cope with her anxieties. And Wemberly’s well-meaning grandmother just tells her to loosen up and have some fun. Every aspect of life raises new worries for Wemberly—she worries in bed in the morning and evenings, worries as she plays in the yard or reads in a big comfy chair, and worries about the equipment in the playground falling apart. Soon the biggest worry ever in Wemberly’s young life rears its ugly head—nursery school is on the horizon. The concomitant list of worries it engenders is Wemberly’s longest ever (cleverly depicted by a double-paged spread featuring larger and larger type against a background of question marks). The school worries are typical going-to-school fears—what if Wemberly can’t find the bathroom when she needs it, what if she’s the only one who has brought her doll to school, and so on. Funnily, Wemberly’s parents don’t seem to have prepared her very well for starting school—her worries could have been easily addressed had they told her more about what to expect. But amazingly (and not very believably) things go wonderfully well at school after Wemberly meets a kindred spirit, another worried little mouse named Jewel with whom she becomes fast friends. In an overly pat ending, Wemberly happily goes home at the end of her first day of school, already looking forward to the second day. Henkes’s best works—Chrysanthemum (1991) and Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse (1996), among others—are masterpieces, capturing and distilling the essence of universal childhood experiences. Unfortunately, Wemberly Worried doesn’t fall into this category. It’s hard to buy that her personality could undergo so radical a change just because she finds a new friend. Surely a new friendship would bring with it a whole new set of worries. The reader actually feels sorry for Wemberly, who doesn’t seem to be enjoying life very much. Maybe some mouse therapy is called for. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2000
ISBN: 0-688-17027-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2000
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
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