Charmingly homey, in all the senses of the word.
A child and a snowperson collaborate to build a snowy palace, culminating in a magnificent ball.
Right from the endpapers, readers are immersed in a wordless, wintry world. Inside a snug home, a child awakens in the middle of the night to a magical scene before going downstairs and opening the door. The youngster’s newly built snowperson beckons. After they frolic together, the child must eventually return inside, stranding the snowperson outdoors. Hatching a plan, the pair design, construct, and outfit a grand snow castle with rummaged windows, couches, even a chandelier. When completed, it’s so incandescently inviting that the town’s children and their snowpeople arrive to start a splendid community party. Fulfilled, child and snowperson slumber in their respective homes. The book owes a chilly debt to another frosty favorite, Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman, and these two tonally, structurally similar titles would pair perfectly together. Visually, Lim’s snowballing spreads and discrete square panels glide along smoothly. Divinely diaphanous watercolors communicate complex ideas without a word. Atmospheric cool icy blues, violets and indigos make the white snow, stars and glowing interiors feel cozily illuminated. The child is tan-skinned and dark-haired; there’s much diversity among the party guests.
Charmingly homey, in all the senses of the word. (Picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9781536238068
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2026
PERSPECTIVES
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Some readers may like this retooling a lot. / But new insights into the tale it has not.
A dog’s-eye view of Dr. Seuss’ beloved Yuletide tale.
“On the day before Christmas, / In Who-ville Town Square, / Every Who down in Who-ville / Was gathering there.” Here to give his side of the story via a third-person rhyming narrative is Max, a dog familiar to readers of the original book and/or viewers of the animated TV special based on Seuss’ book. It’s a grand idea: Who wouldn’t want a fresh perspective from Max, the Grinch’s long-suffering but loyal companion? The trouble is that aside from trying to alert little Cindy-Lou Who to the Grinch’s advances, Max doesn’t do anything to hinder the Grinch from robbing the town blind, so this version doesn’t lend any real insight to the story. For some readers, this may raise the question: Why not just stick with the original? While this version’s rhymes aren’t as inventive as the good Dr.’s, Heim does a solid job imitating his style; fans of the Grinch TV special will hear Boris Karloff plummily reciting the text, especially wry lines like “At house after house, while the clocks kept tock-ticking, / Old Max watched the Grinch and his sneaky St. Nick-ing.” Ruiz’s art is a fittingly faithful homage. His palette splits the difference between the 1957 book’s visual sobriety and the 1966 television production’s optical intensity.
Some readers may like this retooling a lot. / But new insights into the tale it has not. (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2026
ISBN: 9798217228072
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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