A delicious treat.
Gather around with Josefina’s family for the best habichuelas con dulce.
When Mami suggests that Josefina give up her cherished sugary foods for Lent—a vow of 40 days and 40 nights—the young sweets lover initially balks at the idea. “I can’t give up sweets for that long!” School, of course, proves difficult to endure due to her nonobservant friends’ continued enjoyment of cookies, candies, and cupcakes. And all in front of Josefina! So Mami comes up with an idea: Josefina will help carry on the family tradition by learning how to make habichuelas con dulce (Josefina’s favorite dessert) for Easter. As Josefina and Mami prepare the beans, a doorbell rings. It’s Tía Yesenia, Tía Xiomara, and Abuela! Cooking habichuelas con dulce becomes a family affair, with a story from Abuela, lots of sugar and spices, and a whole lot of love. In her first picture book, Mendez wonderfully showcases the numerous ways that food brings Latinx—in this case, Dominican—families and communities together. Presented in both English and Spanish (via Espinosa’s translation), the author’s text forgoes flair for simple earnestness in a manner that highlights the book’s themes. Likewise, De Vita’s cozy pictures provide plenty of ideal images of family, with a diverse range of skin tones from light brown to dark brown. A stirring author’s note and a recipe for habichuelas con dulce wrap up a pretty sweet tale.
A delicious treat. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-55885-923-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Piñata Books/Arte Público
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers.
The bestselling series (How to Catch an Elf, 2016, etc.) about capturing mythical creatures continues with a story about various ways to catch the Easter Bunny as it makes its annual deliveries.
The bunny narrates its own story in rhyming text, beginning with an introduction at its office in a manufacturing facility that creates Easter eggs and candy. The rabbit then abruptly takes off on its delivery route with a tiny basket of eggs strapped to its back, immediately encountering a trap with carrots and a box propped up with a stick. The narrative focuses on how the Easter Bunny avoids increasingly complex traps set up to catch him with no explanation as to who has set the traps or why. These traps include an underground tunnel, a fluorescent dance floor with a hidden pit of carrots, a robot bunny, pirates on an island, and a cannon that shoots candy fish, as well as some sort of locked, hazardous site with radiation danger. Readers of previous books in the series will understand the premise, but others will be confused by the rabbit’s frenetic escapades. Cartoon-style illustrations have a 1960s vibe, with a slightly scary, bow-tied bunny with chartreuse eyes and a glowing palette of neon shades that shout for attention.
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3817-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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