Ladybug Girl Lulu is sure what she’ll wear for Halloween until a comment from her brother makes her question her decision.
Once her brother has planted the seed of doubt, Lulu’s usual confidence is shaken. Should she change her mind and try something different from Ladybug Girl? With trusty dog Bingo at her side, Lulu gets to work. Conversational text and deftly created illustrations in ink and watercolor convey Lulu’s determination to find the right costume. As a robot she cannot fit through the door, and as a silent-movie star she will not be able to ask for candy. No one seems to appreciate her hybrid vampire/panda get-up. Lulu still is undecided as her family leaves to go apple picking. She imagines several other dress-up possibilities, but none seems right. A chance encounter with a younger girl who is lost in a corn maze spurs Lulu into action as Ladybug Girl. Whipping off her coat to reveal her costume, Lulu (with some help from Bingo) soon spots a popcorn trail Maya has unwittingly left behind. The three follow it. Soon, Maya and her mother are reunited, and it is clear what costume Lulu will choose. Was there any real doubt?
Readers and their parents will appreciate how Lulu works through her dilemma on her own. Not only is this an entertaining story, but it’s also a good conversation starter about being true to oneself. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 19, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3584-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
Categories: CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A stemless pumpkin who isn’t chosen gets the best Halloween of all.
On the shelves outside a shop in a busy city, a shopkeeper makes a display of orange pumpkins and a single yellow gourd. They are all sizes and shapes and have lovely stems, save for one. Poor Stumpkin worries that, despite his good qualities, his stemlessness will prevent him from becoming a jack-o’-lantern like all the other pumpkins that go home with customers to decorate the windows across the street. On Halloween night, he alone is left (even the gourd went home with someone!). So the shopkeeper scoops him up. The spreads that follow are marvelous, wordless creations that will delight young readers: A black spread is followed by one with an orange-rimmed white triangle on the verso, then one with similar triangles on both pages. “Stumpkin wouldn’t be getting a window. And he wouldn’t be getting a new home. // He already had a home.” The final page shows Stumpkin as a jack-o’-lantern back on the shelves with the shopkeeper’s friendly black cat. Though undoubtedly feel-good, the book may leave readers wondering exactly what it’s saying about Stumpkin’s physical irregularity—is it some kind of disability metaphor? The city sights, people, and animals other than the cat are all black silhouettes, keeping the focus on Stumpkin.
Kids may choose differently at the pumpkin patch after reading this tale, though any deeper message may be lost on them. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 24, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-1362-7
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS
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An interactive book works to get its titular message across to readers.
The narrator, an anthropomorphic cartoon heart with big eyes and stick arms and legs, is nothing if not exuberant in its attempts, clumsy and cloying as they may be. “I love you so much, / but there’s more in my heart. / How is that possible? / Well, where do I start? // Now move in close, and you will see / just how much you mean to me. // My love is huge—below, above. / As you can tell, there’s always more love!” The page following the instruction to move in shows a close-up of the top of the heart and its eyes, one stick arm pointing skyward, though despite the admonition “you can tell,” readers will glean nothing about love from this picture. À la Hervé Tullet, the book prompts readers to act, but the instructions can sometimes be confusing (see above) and are largely irrelevant to the following spread, supposedly triggered by the suggested actions. The heart, suddenly supplied with a painter’s palette and a beret and surrounded by blobs of color, instructs readers to “Shake the book to see what I can be.” The page turn reveals hearts of all different colors, one rainbow-striped, and then different shapes. Most troublingly, the heart, who is clearly meant to be a stand-in for loved ones, states, “I’m always here for you,” which for too many children is heartbreakingly not true.
Skip. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-1376-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS
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