An endearing picture-book debut about tolerance and the assumption of enmity instead of friendship.
An elephant attempts to befriend an artillery unit.
Tilly, a squat little blue elephant, happens upon a tank one morning. It appears to have a trunk similar to hers and a tail, but this elephant is army green. She galumphs over to say hello. But when Tank spots her in his cross hairs his alarm sounds: “WEE-OOO! WEE-OOO! WEE-OOO!” Tilly’s shy “Hello” is dwarfed by a deafening “BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!” (No ammunition is shown, and the fiery blast goes over Tilly’s head.) Tilly squeezes her eyes shut and runs away. But Tilly is curious. Perhaps that BOOM is how this strange green elephant says hello. She tries to be friendly again, this time giving the green elephant’s nose a friendly “boop” with her trunk. But Tank’s alarm begins to sound once more. One last attempt brings about a resolution that comes straight out of the 1960s, flower power and all. Tilly is the epitome of innocence with her timid glances and overflowing affection, while Tank is hard, unforgiving, and hollow. But the “THUMP-THUMP, THUMP-THUMP, THUMP-THUMP” sound coming from his base in the end gives readers a reason to cheer. Fleck’s muted, digitally colored illustrations soothe any sense of potential danger exploding from Tank’s barrel.
An endearing picture-book debut about tolerance and the assumption of enmity instead of friendship. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Jan. 9, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-101-91786-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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