A picture-book friendship between two little girls provides a lesson in global peace and understanding.
Sarah, 5, accompanies the other children in her class on a field trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, also known as Ariha and the City of Moon. The park they visit is lush and fragrant with orange blossoms, like paradise on Earth. But when Sarah strays from the group in order to feed a starving cat, she gets lost and afraid. Ultimately, she finds her way to a mosque near the park, where a friendly older man reassures her and introduces her to his granddaughter, Raya. Before too long, Sarah’s teacher comes to the mosque to get her. By now, Sarah and Raya have become fast friends, and as the book, the Qutobs’ first, winds down, readers come to understand that the pair’s friendship has endured for 30 years, with frequent adventures in the City of Moon. The message here isn’t difficult to understand: Raya is clearly Muslim, and by Sarah’s Hebraic name and the fact that she lives only a bus ride away from Jericho, we can assume that she is Jewish or perhaps one of the Christian minority in Israel. If these children can share kindness and friendship in this beautiful oasis, why can’t everyone else? Though some may take exception to such a simplistic moral, it’s difficult to argue with the observation that tensions and prejudices are usually taught, not innate. Retaining a sense of this troubled region’s loveliness and the potential for kindness among its varied people is, in the end, a purely positive message for the children for whom this book was written. (Some proceeds from the book will support orphans from areas of political strife.) One wishes, however, for more artful illustrations; the ones here are disappointingly of a generic, cartoony, computer-generated type that does little to illustrate the subtext of finding peace, in part, through an appreciation of beauty, both physical and spiritual. The printed edition includes a soundbox tool, a thoughtful addition for children who may not always have someone to read to them.
A timeless message for a good cause; a good choice for a multicultural, multiethnic audience.
Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Dog Ear Publisher
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
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