Just the ticket for readers who are dying to introduce fart jokes into their Christmas festivities
This British import focuses on Santa’s lead reindeer, Rudy, who, as the title indicates, has a major attack of flatulence on Christmas Eve.
When Mrs. Claus serves Brussels sprouts for dinner, she eats her own portion, but Santa Claus surreptitiously feeds his sprouts to Rudy (pictured here without a glowing red nose). During the Christmas Eve flight to deliver presents, Rudy continuously passes gas in every country, leaving the other reindeer weak from laughter. To get everyone back home, Rudy puts forth extra effort with green “super-turbo gas” that propels the sleigh back to the North Pole. The story revolves around Rudy passing gas and then apologizing for it, with lots of seminaughty jokes and crude euphemisms. Kids in the U.S. may not get the references to “wind” for flatulence or immediately comprehend the premise of sprouts and their unfortunate digestive effects. But once Rudy’s problem emerges, kids will learn all sorts of new terms for passing gas, like “sprouty whiff,” “windy pop,” “booty burp,” “stinky fluff,” as well as aurally inflected euphemisms such as “bottom flute” or “rear-end trumpet.” Amusing, large-format illustrations in a cool palette of blues and purples follow Rudy on his journey around the world, with his gassy output highlighted in lime green.
Just the ticket for readers who are dying to introduce fart jokes into their Christmas festivities . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8075-7173-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
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
All-in-good-fun Halloween scares.
In NSYNC singer Bass’ debut picture book, trick-or-treaters follow their fearless leader down Scary Street in search of sweets, or so they think.
On Halloween night, a mischievous child dressed as a wolf, reminiscent of Max from Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are (1963), leads a large, racially diverse group of costumed children down Scary Street. The youngster, who narrates, proceeds to bring them to a series of creepy fun house–style homes, including a mansion belonging to a menacingly dapper vampire, who offers “toothy snacks” to the terrified-looking trick-or-treaters, and a gingerbread cottage inhabited by a Cruella de Vil–esque witch, who might prefer to bake little children into her house rather than give them treats. Uh-oh. Now there are only four children following the increasingly unreliable narrator, who ominously repeats, “No tricks allowed, just tasty treats.” As it turns out, the narrator does have a trick in store, which completes the scare and brings the story to a happy conclusion. Bass uses a simple, sometimes uneven rhyme pattern that ranges from interesting combinations (missed is rhymed with resist) to more familiar ones (treats/sweets) with a dash of tongue-in-cheek humor. Garrigue’s atmospheric illustrations have a Coney Island sideshow vibe, created with a candy palette that’s both invitingly tasty and garish in just the right way. The narrator, the vampire, and the witch are light-skinned.
All-in-good-fun Halloween scares. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 23, 2024
ISBN: 9781454952176
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
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