Appealing characters and lively storytelling suggest a welcome series in the making.
In this debut illustrated chapter book, Dad works a little too hard on the outdoor Christmas lights.
The holidays are coming, and Papa Grod is determined that his family’s Christmas light display will be the best ever. He especially wants to impress Mama Grod, who was unhappy that last year’s lights looked “ ‘scruffy’ and ‘hodge-podgey’ and ‘tacky.’ ” (Papa didn’t get around to taking those lights down until July, and the summer heat certainly didn’t help their condition.) After special trips to stores in town to find light hangers and the blue and violet bulbs that Mama prefers, Papa can’t wait to decorate the roof. And, after all his work, he isn’t going to worry that he may have missed something when he tries to fix a hitch in the installation process. But what Papa has overlooked soon becomes clear when it begins to rain. (And maybe Papa won’t mention the Christmas lights in his holiday letter after all.) In this children’s book, Gord Yakimow deftly combines a story of relatable family life with humor and a fantasy twist. In the colorful, detailed illustrations conceptualized by John Yakimow, the author’s son, and engagingly rendered by Schultz, the Grods are like all the inhabitants in the Valley of the EverGreens. They are tubby, gray, bulbous-nosed, big-eyed folk of indeterminate origin. Papa is endearingly well intentioned, and the love the family members feel for one another—even when Mama and the Grod children (Sister, Gordie, and Tommie) view the Christmas décor with varying degrees of enthusiasm—warms the narrative. A hint that more books featuring the Grods may be forthcoming can be found in the author’s mention of their past adventures in the “Far-off Territory of the North,” where they lived in a “lovely log cabin beside a beautiful clear lake.” The work ends with a sample Scottish-themed menu from the restaurant where the family had a celebratory meal before Papa’s efforts proved unfortunate, complete with a quote by Robert Burns that’s cleverly apt: “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley.”
Appealing characters and lively storytelling suggest a welcome series in the making.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-03-911009-0
Page Count: 44
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: April 28, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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BOOK REVIEW
It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property.
Since a reformed Grinch is hardly any fun, this follow-up Grinches him up once more.
Those seeking more of the same, prepare to receive precisely that. Christmas is coming (again!), and the Grinch can hardly wait. He’s been patient all year, and now he can finally show the Whos down in Who-ville how much he’s changed. When the Grinch learns of a tree-decorating contest, he figures that if he wins, it’ll prove he truly has the Christmas spirit. He throws himself into the task, but when it comes time to judge the trees, the Grinch is horrified to discover that he’s received only the second-place trophy. Can Cindy-Lou Who find the words to save the day? Replicating many of the original beats and wordplay of the original, this tale feels like less a sequel and more like a vaguely rewritten variation. Meanwhile, Ruiz’s art seeks to bridge the gap between the animated Chuck Jones version of the Grinch and the one depicted in the original book. This thankless task results in a strange uncanny valley between Seuss and Jones but does allow the artist a chance to colorize everything and lend some racial diversity to the Who population (Cindy-Lou is light-skinned). (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9780593563168
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
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