by Eva Eriksson & illustrated by Eva Eriksson & translated by Elisabeth Kallick Dyssegaard ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 14, 2003
Molly, the moon-headed pig, is feeling a little smug when Grandma suggests she run to the store for a bag of beans. But when she gets to the market, she’s obscured in the crush of customers. It takes so long for her to be noticed, she forgets what she’s supposed to purchase. The clerk asks if it’s a bag of potatoes and Molly agrees and delivers them to her nonplussed Grandma, claiming that the clerk forced them on her. Grandma goes to the store, angry at the clerk. When she returns, Molly’s hiding under the table. Grandma tells her not to fib again and sends her for pastries. This time, she loses Grandma’s coin purse, reporting it stolen, but they find it in the middle of the sidewalk. By the time she gets to the baker, she’s forgotten what to get. Cream puffs will do just fine—though she worries she’s made another mistake. Eriksson’s illustrations are softly drawn, with delicate Old World settings and dryly comic characters. Molly’s no angel, but Grandma loves her and sympathetic readers will, too. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 14, 2003
ISBN: 91-29-65819-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: R&S/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2003
Share your opinion of this book
More by Barbro Lindgren
BOOK REVIEW
by Barbro Lindgren ; illustrated by Eva Eriksson ; translated by Julia Marshall
BOOK REVIEW
by Rose Lagercrantz ; illustrated by Eva Eriksson ; translated by Julia Marshall
BOOK REVIEW
by Ulf Nilsson ; illustrated by Eva Eriksson ; translated by Julia Marshall
by Loren Long & illustrated by Loren Long ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2009
Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
by Loren Long ; illustrated by Loren Long
by Loren Long ; illustrated by Loren Long
by Loren Long ; illustrated by Loren Long
More by Jason June
BOOK REVIEW
by Jason June ; illustrated by Loren Long
BOOK REVIEW
by Amanda Gorman ; illustrated by Loren Long
BOOK REVIEW
by Lisa Wheeler ; illustrated by Loren Long
More About This Book
SEEN & HEARD
by Hoda Kotb ; illustrated by Chloe Dominique ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2024
Pleasant enough but not particularly original.
Uplifting messages of positivity from the Today show anchor.
Hope springs eternal, so the saying goes. Kotb agrees, here delivering to children the cheery news that hope lives inside all of them and that whatever they might wish for can be theirs. All they need is a sunny outlook, and the possibilities for happy outcomes are virtually endless. Children’s dreams can be in-the-moment ones—like purple ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry—or more far-ranging ones, such as growing tall enough to reach that high shelf easily or for hair that’s long enough to braid. It doesn’t matter, the author reassures young readers. Your aspirations will be realized, so don’t give up on them—just keep believing in them and, most of all, in yourself. Throughout, Kotb calls hope a rainbow, a feeling, a gift, and a wish. Hope is “new friends you’ll find— / friends who are loving and funny and kind.” Hope is “practicing your heart out, letter by letter.” The book’s overarching theme is upbeat, but its bouncy rhyming text is clumsy. The child-appealing illustrations are colorful and lively, though they have a generic look. The cast of wide-eyed characters is racially diverse; some have visible disabilities.
Pleasant enough but not particularly original. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9780593624128
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
Share your opinion of this book
More by Hoda Kotb
BOOK REVIEW
by Hoda Kotb ; illustrated by Suzie Mason
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.