The ideal vehicle for inspiring children’s own flights of fancy.
A small brown mouse learns how to construct a narrative.
Mack addresses his audience directly, writing in the second person; his suggestions are interpreted by the long-tailed protagonist, clad in green footie pajamas. The first requirement is an idea: The writer is advised to “look around” and “pick one.” A beginning is born when the mouse chases the idea (a stuffed rabbit, sprung to life) outside to a cardboard box turned spaceship. In what is likely a nod to 1985’s If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (as are the choice of lead character and the titular phrasing), the hero and pal blast past heavenly bodies depicted as chocolate chip confections, landing on an orange surface. Mack adds excitement in the form of a problem (a villainous alien who steals the rabbit). He notes that writing can be overwhelming, but he urges aspiring authors to be open to changing direction. He controls pacing by varying his digital compositions from sequential panels of different shapes and sizes to double-page spreads that bleed off the page. Mack offers an immensely entertaining tale while explaining various processes in clear, practical steps. The book ends with the mouse returning home to read the completed story to interested parents; Mack leaves readers with questions (“How does it sound when you read it out loud? Would you change anything”) that might encourage them to do a bit of editing.
Pub Date: July 15, 2025
ISBN: 9780823458189
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Neal Porter/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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