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DEM BONES

Name: DEM BONES
Author: Holly Weane
ISBN: 978-1-4867-1674-6

From the Flowerpot Holiday series

adapted by Holly Weane ; illustrated by Ivana Forgo ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2019

Dry. Dim. Don’t bother.

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A board-book version of the familiar spiritual, revamped with animal characters in skeleton costumes.

A group of anthropomorphic, bipedal animals who appear to be wearing black, one-piece bodysuits with human skeletons printed on them dance from one spread to the next. The full-bleed cartoon art is dark and busy—especially for a board book—and there’s little variation from one spread to the next to sustain visual interest. No matter how catchy the implied tune may be to those who are familiar with it, the repetitive text is less than inspired, too. Following an opening spread in which diverse animals dance to the chorus, elephants come to the foreground to dance to the lyric reading “The TOE bone’s connected to the FOOT bone,” then ankle, then shin, culminating in the line, “Now shake dem ELEPHANT bones!” The next spread switches back to the chorus with the whole group dancing together (“Now shake dem ANIMAL bones!”). Then the pattern repeats with puppy dogs, kitty cats, and billy goats (each subgroup mysteriously joined by unmentioned dinosaurs) moving in shifts to the foreground as the verses move up the body to name different bones.

Dry. Dim. Don’t bother. (Board book. 0-2)

Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-4867-1674-6

Page Count: 20

Publisher: Flowerpot Press

Review Posted Online: July 23, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

- BOOK REVIEW
5 VERY LITTLE PUMPKINS
by Holly Weane ; illustrated by Ivana Forgo

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S CHRISTMAS

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 23, 2014

Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

DR. SEUSS'S HOW THE GRINCH LOST CHRISTMAS!

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DR. SEUSS'S HOW THE GRINCH LOST CHRISTMAS!

by Alastair Heim ; illustrated by Aristides Ruiz ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 5, 2023

It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property.

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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)