A satisfying tale of sisterhood—and of a younger sibling who finds a way to shine.
Sisters Weitzman and Glasser team up for a tale of individuality, acceptance, and sibling conflict.
Narrator Daisy introduces her family: her parents, who grow and sell flowers, and her big sisters, Lily and Poppy. The older girls’ distinctive personalities are reflected in their respective gardens. Lily’s carefully bordered, ruler-perfect squares, manicured with scissors, evince her perfectionism. In chaotic contrast, Poppy’s garden is a riot of her namesake scarlet flowers, ornaments, birdhouses, and a Rube Goldberg–esque device. (Poppy optimistically even plants hard candies.) Each sister gently critiques the other’s style: Poppy suggests a trampoline for Lily’s plot, and Lily encourages Poppy to be a bit more orderly. So far, little Daisy tends just one plant in a flowerpot, but today is the day she gets her own garden. Predictably, each sister wants Daisy’s plot to reflect her own preferences. In an escalating contest, they go so far as to divide Daisy’s plot between them. But Daisy knows that her garden needs to reflect her own identity. The writing provides effective characterization as the sisters’ rival visions unfurl. Delicate drawings bloom with detail and color. The girls are light-skinned: Lily has long, neatly tied black hair, Poppy has spiky locks, and Daisy’s short red curls stand out.
A satisfying tale of sisterhood—and of a younger sibling who finds a way to shine. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 20, 2025
ISBN: 9780062279286
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available.
A ghost learns to appreciate his differences.
The little ghost protagonist of this title is unusual. He’s a quilt, not a lightweight sheet like his parents and friends. He dislikes being different despite his mom’s reassurance that his ancestors also had unconventional appearances. Halloween makes the little ghost happy, though. He decides to watch trick-or-treaters by draping over a porch chair—but lands on a porch rail instead. A mom accompanying her daughter picks him up, wraps him around her chilly daughter, and brings him home with them! The family likes his looks and comforting warmth, and the little ghost immediately feels better about himself. As soon as he’s able to, he flies out through the chimney and muses happily that this adventure happened only due to his being a quilt. This odd but gently told story conveys the importance of self-respect and acceptance of one’s uniqueness. The delivery of this positive message has something of a heavy-handed feel and is rushed besides. It also isn’t entirely logical: The protagonist could have been a different type of covering; a blanket, for instance, might have enjoyed an identical experience. The soft, pleasing illustrations’ palette of tans, grays, white, black, some touches of color, and, occasionally, white text against black backgrounds suggest isolation, such as the ghost feels about himself. Most humans, including the trick-or-treating mom and daughter, have beige skin. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-16.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 66.2% of actual size.)
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7352-6447-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Just the thing for anyone with a Grinch-y tree of their own in the yard.
A grouchy sapling on a Christmas tree farm finds that there are better things than lights and decorations for its branches.
A Grinch among the other trees on the farm is determined never to become a sappy Christmas tree—and never to leave its spot. Its determination makes it so: It grows gnarled and twisted and needle-less. As time passes, the farm is swallowed by the suburbs. The neighborhood kids dare one another to climb the scary, grumpy-looking tree, and soon, they are using its branches for their imaginative play, the tree serving as a pirate ship, a fort, a spaceship, and a dragon. But in winter, the tree stands alone and feels bereft and lonely for the first time ever, and it can’t look away from the decorated tree inside the house next to its lot. When some parents threaten to cut the “horrible” tree down, the tree thinks, “Not now that my limbs are full of happy children,” showing how far it has come. Happily for the tree, the children won’t give up so easily, and though the tree never wished to become a Christmas tree, it’s perfectly content being a “trick or tree.” Martinez’s digital illustrations play up the humorous dichotomy between the happy, aspiring Christmas trees (and their shoppers) and the grumpy tree, and the diverse humans are satisfyingly expressive.
Just the thing for anyone with a Grinch-y tree of their own in the yard. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-7335-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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