A touching tale with a relatable message: Home is where our loved ones are.
Amid a winter storm, a young girl and a rodent find friendship.
Olivia resides in a house with a little red door, while Mouse lives in a big oak tree at the bottom of the yard. Both have cozy homes but long for something more. When it begins to snow one day, they venture outside and meet. Olivia shows Mouse all the fun things they can do in the snow, from sledding to making snow angels. But the snow doesn’t stop, and the heavy winds soon knock over the oak tree, destroying Mouse’s home. Olivia helps him set up a new house out of a flowerpot, but it still doesn’t feel quite right. Mouse heads for the little red door; he finds a welcoming friend waiting and, what’s more, a true home. This lift-the-flap story includes plenty of beautiful details: the various rooms in Mouse’s treehouse, the insides of would-be new homes for Mouse, and even the reveal of Mouse’s silhouette at the door in the snowy night. Pale-skinned, brown-haired Olivia makes a sweet friend for the adorable, big-eared, beady-eyed rodent. The illustrations evoke a strong sense of place and season, thanks to the carefully chosen details and well-captured outdoor elements. Readers will love poring over these richly depicted scenes and slipping into Olivia and Mouse’s inviting world.
A touching tale with a relatable message: Home is where our loved ones are. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9780500653494
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Still, preschoolers will likely savor this mouthwatering treatment of a subject that looms large in many early school...
The familiar theme of the challenges facing a new kid in town is given an original treatment by photographer Border in this book of photos of three-dimensional objects in a simple modeled landscape.
Peanut Butter is represented by a slice of white bread spread with the popular condiment. The other characters in the story—a hamburger with a pair of hot dogs in tow, a bowl of alphabet soup, a meatball jumping a rope of spaghetti, a carton of French fries and a pink cupcake—are represented by skillfully crafted models of these foods, anthropomorphized using simple wire construction. Rejected by each character in turn in his search for playmates, Peanut Butter discovers in the end that Jelly is his true match (not Cupcake, as the title suggests), perhaps because she is the only one who looks like him, being a slice of white bread spread with jelly. The friendly foods end up happily playing soccer together. Some parents may have trouble with the unabashedly happy depiction of carbs and American junk food (no carrots or celery sticks in this landscape), and others may find themselves troubled by the implication that friendship across difference is impossible.
Still, preschoolers will likely savor this mouthwatering treatment of a subject that looms large in many early school experiences. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 29, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-16773-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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