A sweet treat for the holiday shelves.
Carrot and Cookie unexpectedly fill Santa’s shoes in a grand adventure.
It’s Christmas Eve, and Carrot still doesn’t have a present for bestie Cookie. Pickle points out that getting a gift should be “no big dill,” but Carrot needs something “EXTRA special.” Cookie’s “also in a jam.” What should Cookie get Carrot? Cupcake’s idea—adding sprinkles to every problem—is “a little half-baked.” Ultimately, neither Carrot nor Cookie gets anything for the other. Anxiety gets the best of them both. The pair eventually decide to “spill the beans” at their annual Christmas Eve sleepover. But their confessions are interrupted by a “Ho-ho-ho…achoo!” as a gingerbread Santa bursts onto the scene. Bad news: Santa is sick and going to have to cancel Christmas. Good news: Cookie and Carrot volunteer to save the day. They recruit various vegetables to replace the broken reindeer (including “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Radish”) and put Santa to bed. Can they get everything delivered in time? This follow-up to When Carrot Met Cookie (2021) is as wholesome as it is funny. The dialogue-driven story (with speech bubbles) asks readers to suspend disbelief and trust in “veggie power”—they’ll willingly do so. Perl and Fenske’s commitment to the punny, perishable world makes for some delectable details—even the moon is made of cheese!
A sweet treat for the holiday shelves. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9780593662366
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers.
The bestselling series (How to Catch an Elf, 2016, etc.) about capturing mythical creatures continues with a story about various ways to catch the Easter Bunny as it makes its annual deliveries.
The bunny narrates its own story in rhyming text, beginning with an introduction at its office in a manufacturing facility that creates Easter eggs and candy. The rabbit then abruptly takes off on its delivery route with a tiny basket of eggs strapped to its back, immediately encountering a trap with carrots and a box propped up with a stick. The narrative focuses on how the Easter Bunny avoids increasingly complex traps set up to catch him with no explanation as to who has set the traps or why. These traps include an underground tunnel, a fluorescent dance floor with a hidden pit of carrots, a robot bunny, pirates on an island, and a cannon that shoots candy fish, as well as some sort of locked, hazardous site with radiation danger. Readers of previous books in the series will understand the premise, but others will be confused by the rabbit’s frenetic escapades. Cartoon-style illustrations have a 1960s vibe, with a slightly scary, bow-tied bunny with chartreuse eyes and a glowing palette of neon shades that shout for attention.
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3817-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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