A worthy tale, if not very well thought out nor the comic gold of Eric Rohmann’s similar, Caldecott-winning My Friend...
How will hungry Rabbit reach the apple hanging so far out of reach? With help from friends, of course!
Shuffling miserably through a barren, wintry landscape speckled with falling snow, Rabbit spots the bright red apple hanging from a leafless branch in truly mouthwatering splendor. His own efforts to reach it proving vain, off he goes to enlist aid from Mouse, then from an ill but amicable Fox. Neither alone nor stacked atop one another can they reach high enough until Bear joins them. Success at last, though Fox’s ill-timed sneeze causes all to tumble into the snow. Oral pays more attention to his theme than to finicky details: the animals divvy up the apple (how?) and eat their portions for dinner (a rather paltry meal, except maybe for Mouse, and a surprising choice for Fox, considering that two of his three companions are prey). They then repair to Bear’s den and fall together “into a deep, happy sleep”—right next to the apple’s intact, neatly shaved core. Analytical young readers will have questions about the internal logic here and will also note that as often as not in the illustrations the animals walk on their hind legs. No matter: cooperation toward a goal is always worth a shoutout, and sharing the resulting prize seems only fair.
A worthy tale, if not very well thought out nor the comic gold of Eric Rohmann’s similar, Caldecott-winning My Friend Rabbit. (2002). (Picture book. 6-8) . (2002)(Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-988-8240-00-5
Page Count: 36
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2015
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends
Gerald the elephant learns a truth familiar to every preschooler—heck, every human: “Waiting is not easy!”
When Piggie cartwheels up to Gerald announcing that she has a surprise for him, Gerald is less than pleased to learn that the “surprise is a surprise.” Gerald pumps Piggie for information (it’s big, it’s pretty, and they can share it), but Piggie holds fast on this basic principle: Gerald will have to wait. Gerald lets out an almighty “GROAN!” Variations on this basic exchange occur throughout the day; Gerald pleads, Piggie insists they must wait; Gerald groans. As the day turns to twilight (signaled by the backgrounds that darken from mauve to gray to charcoal), Gerald gets grumpy. “WE HAVE WASTED THE WHOLE DAY!…And for WHAT!?” Piggie then gestures up to the Milky Way, which an awed Gerald acknowledges “was worth the wait.” Willems relies even more than usual on the slightest of changes in posture, layout and typography, as two waiting figures can’t help but be pretty static. At one point, Piggie assumes the lotus position, infuriating Gerald. Most amusingly, Gerald’s elephantine groans assume weighty physicality in spread-filling speech bubbles that knock Piggie to the ground. And the spectacular, photo-collaged images of the Milky Way that dwarf the two friends makes it clear that it was indeed worth the wait.
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends . (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-9957-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An absolute pleasure.
A small dog takes a huge leap.
True to her name, sled dog puppy Leap spends her days bounding happily through blankets of freshly fallen snow, bouncily biding her time until she, too, can suit up for a run with the team. Each dog brings a different, equally essential skill to the work of mushing, and as too-young Leap greets the pack when they return from their daily hike, she worries—what if she lacks a special talent of her own when it’s her time to race? But when the much-anticipated day arrives and Leap clips in for her rookie run, her feet tippity-tap excitedly, any trace of self-doubt eclipsed by her irrepressible enthusiasm. With their new addition in tow, the other dogs take off, buoyed as ever by a confidence borne from specialized expertise; they confront obstacles head-on, sailing easily along icy Northwoods terrain. That is until the team encounters a seemingly insurmountable hurdle, one that only their greenest member can clear. Dogsled racer Braverman’s sweet narrative builds a satisfying case for individuality as a community asset, celebrating both the value of teamwork and the discrete strengths that comprise it. Savvy readers will take pride in predicting Leap’s unique contribution, while canine lovers will delight in the revelation that the pups depicted are all real-life sled dogs working in northern Wisconsin. When’s illustrations are equal parts spellbinding and precious, deftly balancing compositional simplicity with masterful color work. The result is peerless.
An absolute pleasure. (author’s note) (Picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2025
ISBN: 9780063238053
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
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