Translated from Hungarian, this whimsical, modern folktale begs to be read aloud
A princess and her beloved improve their kingdom with intelligence and generosity while seeking to reverse a fowl curse.
Far away, in a castle with 36 towers and 300 windows, lives clever Princess Arnica. The princess and honest, practical Poor Johnny, “the most footloose and fancy-free of all people,” fall in love and are cursed by the Witch of a Hundred Faces. One will be a duck and the other a human until the Seven-Headed Fairy breaks the spell. As they search for the fairy, the pair encounters eclectic characters and situations, the episodes illustrating modern virtues that include the value of anger management, the power of love, and the pitfalls of material wealth. The book closes with a nuanced moral: “The important thing is to really, really want something. Even if it won’t necessarily succeed.” The short, connected episodes are built from folktalelike phrases. Two nameless narrators interrupt the story frequently for humorous, candid discussions of plot and characters. Mixed-media full-page and spot illustrations grace every other page and depict a largely white cast. Rounded shapes and bodies work in tandem with a sparkling jewel-toned palette to create a charming fantasy world, softening the ferocity of the witch and her animal minions. Readers will hope this is just the first of many works by Lázár, who died in 2006, to be translated into English.
Translated from Hungarian, this whimsical, modern folktale begs to be read aloud . (Fable. 4-10)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-78269-220-1
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Pushkin Press
Review Posted Online: May 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note.
Little Honey Bunny Funnybunny loves baseball almost as much as she loves her big brother P.J.—though it’s a close-run thing.
Readers familiar with the pranks P.J. plays on his younger sibling in older episodes of the series (most illustrated by Roger Bollen) will be amused—and perhaps a little confused—to see him in the role of perfect big brother after meeting his swaddled little sister for the first time in mama’s lap. But here, along with being a constant companion and “always happy to see her,” he cements his heroic status in her eyes by hitting a home run for his baseball team and then patiently teaching her how to play T-ball. After carefully coaching her and leading her through warm-up exercises, he even sits in the stands, loudly cheering her on as she scores the winning run in her own very first game. “‘You are the best brother a bunny could ever have!’” she burbles. This tale’s a tad blander compared with others centered on P.J. and his sister, but it’s undeniably cheery, with text well structured for burgeoning readers. The all-smiles animal cast in Bowers’ cartoon art features a large and diversely hued family of bunnies sporting immense floppy ears as well as a multispecies crowd of furry onlookers equally varied of color, with one spectator in a wheelchair.
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note. (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9798217032464
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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