A tender tale of love and traditions.
A young boy and his mom prepare to celebrate the harvest holiday of Sukkot.
“Do you know why we sit in the sukkah?” a mother asks her child. The boy states simply, “To remind us we are part of the Jewish people.” The mom and the boy, clutching his toy lion, head across the autumn-hued backyard to the tented sukkah, which has an open roof of woven branches and a string of overhead lights. As they hang decorations and fruit among the lights and settle in, the boy is full of questions. Can we turn on the lights? Can we read my bedtime story here? Of course they can, but Mom is reluctant to grant his request to sleep in the sukkah, offering several reasons against it. This wise child has answers for all her doubts, expressed in lovely, metaphorical language, including the charming title phrase, sure to appeal to little ones. Snuggles, giggles, and the promised story ensue, but the rain comes, causing tears and fears. Mom whispers of how the sukkah will protect them as it did the ancient Jews wandering in the desert. They recite the evening prayer together, the Sh’ma, and all is peaceful. Halpern mixes simple, descriptive syntax with striking imagery, providing young readers with a clear understanding of the characters’ loving relationship and their Jewish identity. Fedele presents the characters in large-scale close-ups with lush landscapes surrounding them and incorporates details not in the text that enlarge and enhance the tale. Both the mother and the boy are light-skinned and dark-haired. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A tender tale of love and traditions. (about Sukkot) (Picture book/religion. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72843-904-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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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