A humorously deadpan lesson in perspective.
Bigfoot turns out to possess a big heart—and a low tolerance for cognitive dissonance.
Who are these “mysterious creatures,” “so dangerous, and so treacherous,” who compel a sasquatch to fear them above everything? Why, us humans, of course—because we take over lands that don’t belong to us, urinate in the sasquatches’ gardens, and contaminate water simply by swimming in it. But in this handy guide addressed to fellow cryptids, Bigfoot explains how to identify the small threats by sight (“hairless limbs and faces”), by smell (especially farts), and by their “ear-piercing” sound. Though Bigfoot warns that humans are to be avoided at all costs, this directive isn’t so easy to follow. Playing dead is impossible when an intrepid, light-skinned young camper starts tickling the protagonist’s feet, and the child’s granola bars prove irresistible to Bigfoot. When the youngster, unable to remember the way back to the other campers, hides a teary face in the beast’s warm fur, it becomes clear that little humans aren’t exactly as myth has portrayed them. The book’s cautious advice diverges radically and amusingly from what we see in the illustrations and from what Bigfoot experiences. Childlike artwork in subdued colors with crayonlike strokes suggests authentic authorship by the big furry narrator, who never looks menacing and becomes more cuddly as the story progresses.
A humorously deadpan lesson in perspective. (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781525312632
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A charming friendship story and great setup for future books.
Curious about the Big Wide World outside his Sasquatch community, Hugo makes a friend who is of it.
Sasquatch Hugo’s bedroom is inside a cave and possesses the charming feature of a small stream running through it that he can sail his little toy boat on. It’s cool, but he yearns to see the Big Wide World. When he asks his smart friend Gigi if a Sasquatch might become a sailor, she says it’s possible but would be difficult—the primary rule of their people is to not be seen by Humans. Then, in everyone’s favorite Hide and Go Sneak class, which is held outside, a Human appears; Hugo laughs at the sight, drawing Human attention in a taboo-breaking mistake. Shortly after, Hugo’s toy boat floats into the cave with a Human toy—soon, it’s facilitating a pen-pal–type relationship that’s derailed when Hugo confesses to being a Sasquatch and Human Boone, a budding cryptozoologist, doesn’t believe him. How Hugo and Boone resolve this misapprehension and become friends in a joint search for the Ogopogo concludes this series opener. Potter keeps the third-person narrative tightly focused on Hugo’s perspective, and the details she uses to flesh out the Sasquatch world are delightfully playful. Sala’s drawings depict a homey Sasquatch cavern community, Boone as a freckled, white boy, and Hugo as a hairily benevolent behemoth.
A charming friendship story and great setup for future books. (final art unseen) (Fantasy. 5-9)Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2859-4
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
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