A wondrously weird confection with a nutritious message.
A rodent who lives to dance doesn’t let her diminutive size keep her in the wings.
A little gray mouse has dancing dreams—“BIG, showstopping, some-day-dance-with-the-Sugar-Plum-Fairy dreams.” When three animals who are playing snowflakes in a production of The Nutcracker tell her she’s too small to join them onstage—“You’re too tiny for a tutu!”—the mouse dances over to a doughnut shop, slips a purple-glazed sprinkle-flecked beauty around her waist, and voilà: She’s a Donutrina! Donutrina invites three friends to dance with her, but they’re self-conscious: Hippopotamus feels too big, Giraffe feels too tall, and Porcupine simply notes, “I’m a porcupine.” Donutrina has the solution: Hippopotamus becomes a Pizzarina, Giraffe becomes a Cake-arina, and Porcupine becomes a Porcupina Popcornina (obviously!). Together, dozens of animals in alluringly bizarro dance attire (some of which is a little hard to identify) pirouette and jeté in the street, inspiring the onlooking Sugar Plum Fairy (who appears to be a gazelle) to invite everyone to dance with her in a “Nutcracker spectacular.” Young readers may not know the phrase “body positivity,” but they won’t miss this jubilant tale’s underlying anti-sizeist message, not to mention the story’s suggestion that anything can be (wearable) art. Yoon’s flouncy-woozy mixed-media illustrations, which are dusted with confectionery colors, keep the spotlight on the book’s swirling, twirling star, who has the grace of a prima donutrina.
A wondrously weird confection with a nutritious message. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2026
ISBN: 9781536239676
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: yesterday
This frenetic ode to fatherhood is predictable fare but may please series fans.
It’s time to look for the elusive Daddysaurus.
In this latest installment in the seemingly never-ending series about a group of diverse kids attempting to trap mythical creatures, the youngsters are now on the lookout for a big mauve dinosaur with an emblazoned D on his stomach and a superhero cape. The fast-moving Daddysaurus is always on the go; he will be difficult to catch. Armed with blueprints of possible ideas, the kids decide which traps to set. As in previous works, ones of the sticky variety seem popular. They cover barbells with fly paper (Daddysaurus like to exercise) and spread glue on the handle of a shovel (Daddysaurus also likes to garden). One clever trick involves tempting Daddysaurus with a drawing of a hole, taped to the wall, because he fixes everything that breaks. Daddysaurus is certainly engaged in the children’s lives, not a workaholic or absent, but he does fall into some standard tropes associated with fathers. The rhyming quatrains stumble at times but for the most part bounce along. Overall, though, text and art feel somewhat formulaic and likely will tempt only devotees of the series. The final page of the book (after Daddysaurus is caught with love) has a space for readers to write a note or draw a picture of their own Daddysaurus. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
This frenetic ode to fatherhood is predictable fare but may please series fans. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-72826-618-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
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Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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