Extremely skippable.
A rabbit and a girl send away for a pachyderm friend.
Sophie, a white girl with blonde hair, and Herb, an extremely goofy rabbit, are eating breakfast one day when “Sophie noticed something on the cereal box.” A breakfast-foods company called Velveteen Valley claims that if a consumer redeems six box tops, they’ll send a free elephant. The friends get to work and mail the required materials, and soon a gigantic box with eyeholes shows up. During introductions, Sophie and Herb find out that it’s their responsibility to name their large gray friend. After a few false starts, readers learn that Herb is an old family name, and Sophie is named after a ballerina, so the elephant “remembered an elephant from long, long ago named Tony the Woolly,” so Tony it is. “The best part of having a name is making it your own,” remarks Sophie, and the trio rides off together on a bicycle built for three. With choppy page turns, unrelentingly upbeat dialogue, and an almost nonexistent conflict, this story is like the cereal the characters begin it eating: sweet, trying to appeal to both kids and the adults who have purchasing power, and extremely unsatisfying. The crude collage, ink, and gouache illustrations are fun but not enough to carry the bland plot and lukewarm message.
Extremely skippable. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-245577-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
Sure to have little ones giggling.
Jacques is a hedgehog with a big secret: “I wear real, bona fide underwear.”
Our narrator received a mysterious package one day; an illustration shows a pair of underwear tied to a balloon with a note “from the Universe” floating down into Jacques’ burrow. Hedgehogs don’t wear underwear, however. Will Jacques be shunned? Jacques worries but comes to a decision: “I have to wear them. When I do I feel special.” Determined, Jacques, who’s been invited to a party, makes a dramatic entrance, with undies in hand. Jacques’ declaration (“I WEAR UNDERWEAR”) is met with remarks of dismay, before another hedgehog opens up about similar fears and shows off a pair of cowboy boots. More hedgehogs introduce themselves with their own confessions. The story ends with Jacques unveiling a painting of the underwear in a gallery filled with hedgehogs wearing all sorts of attire. Though the book is simple in plot, characters, and setting, it wins in its balance of bathroom humor, dramatic storytelling, and celebrations of individual expression. French words are peppered throughout, adding to the fun without detracting from the story for those unfamiliar with the language. The cartoonish illustrations brim with fun; Valdez relies heavily on geometric shapes (triangle noses for the hedgehogs; huge circles for their eyes). Details such as speech bubbles and recurring turtle and snake characters contribute to the outlandish humor.
Sure to have little ones giggling. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9781250814388
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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