by Harmen van Straaten ; illustrated by Harmen van Straaten ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2013
The magic is missing.
On a snowy, wintry night, the toys in a woodland cottage each boast that they are the most wonderful; all except a lonely snowman in a globe, long forgotten.
On this night, the snowman hears a voice singing to him, inviting him to dance. Suddenly, he is free to walk about (and has the feet to do it). From on top of the mantel, an angel on a clock tells him that his wish has been fulfilled; his globe is open—but only for one hour. Quickly, the snowman follows the music and encounters a beautiful ballerina in a pink tutu who is turning round and round. In the few minutes left before the hour expires, they dance, but then he must return to his globe. The other toys mock him as he yearns to be free and in the arms of the ballerina. Happily, the ballerina wishes to join him, and fortunately, the same angel can grant her wish. The snowman and the ballerina can now dance together in eternal bliss. Van Straaten, a Dutch author/illustrator, has borrowed freely from popular European fairy-tale motifs, but his story lacks charm and warmth. The watercolor illustrations are pleasant but not distinguished.
The magic is missing. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4144-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
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by Lucy Rowland ; illustrated by Paula Metcalf ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2019
A humorous rhyming romp in which the usual fairy-tale villains are friends. (Picture book. 3-6)
Alice, the princess in the palace, loves her blankie, but it’s missing, so the search is on.
Her brother, Jack, used it as a curtain until a giant stole it to use as a hankie, until a witch flew off with it and made a cloak from it, until it was taken by…a cranky-looking dragon who happens to be snoring on it when Alice finds them. Alice is cranky herself but halts a brief blankie tug of war for a better solution: finding the dragon his own bedtime snuggly. It’s not easy. The dragon grows increasingly weepy, but he won’t snuggle with the witch’s “far too scratchy” cat, the giant’s feather pillow (it makes him sneeze), or Jack’s stinky socks. What can Alice do? A thorough search of the palace finally yields the dragon’s perfect snuggly and earns Alice a lifelong friend and protector. Muted mixed-media cartoon illustrations create rich backstories for each character combined with a sophisticated, smoothly reading rhyme scheme to produce a fast-moving friendship story that problem-solving young children will appreciate. Princess Alice, Prince Jack, and the giant present as dark-haired white characters.
A humorous rhyming romp in which the usual fairy-tale villains are friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0819-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
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by Danica McKellar ; illustrated by Jennifer Bricking ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 13, 2018
A deterministic message detracts from the math.
For 10 flower friends, the grass is always greener…in the sky.
Ten Fantasia-like flowers with adorable faces and leaf arms/hands love being together and basking in the sun, but they also can’t help wanting to break free of their roots and fly when they see the fairies flitting about in the moonlight. One night, “Said the tiny blue one, / ‘Fairy up in the sky, / you see, I’m a flower, / but I want to fly.’ ” While the fairy is puzzled at the flower’s discontent, she grants its wish and transforms it into a butterfly. One by one the others join their mate in the sky as butterflies, each one’s color reflecting its flower origin. At daybreak, though, the new butterflies regret the transformation, and the understanding fairy changes them back again: “But big and tall, / or short and small, / being ourselves / is best of all!” Really? There isn’t even one flower that would really rather fly all the time? Throughout, McKellar emphasizes that there are always 10 in all, though some may be flowers and some butterflies at any given point. The endpapers reinforce ways to make 10 by showing 11 combinations, all in two rows of five, which may confuse children, rather than always keeping butterflies separate from flowers and allowing one row to be longer than the other. The bright colors, butterflies, flowers, and the fairy, who is a dark-skinned pixie with long black hair, seem calibrated to attract girly audiences.
A deterministic message detracts from the math. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 13, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-101-93382-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
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