With phrases seemingly thrown in because they rhyme, not because they advance any sort of plot, this is one to skip.
Cash’s latest is plagued with problems similar to those facing his previous two children’s offerings, awkward syntax and poor scansion being the worst of these, but he also adds a new one to the mix: a thin, if enthusiastic plot.
Rhyming verse tells the tale of Cat and Mouse, who travel together, singing as they ride their bandicoot and camel, respectively, through the desert. Cat has a score to settle with Del Moore the snake, who stole his catnip ball when he was just a kitten. But before a showdown can take place, disaster strikes: The bandicoot trips, and the four travelers wind up precariously hanging from a cliff. Snake is the only passer-by who hears their cries and stops to help. “Snake offered Cat his tail end. / Out the Cat’s paw did extend. / Del Moore said, / ‘Let’s just be friends!’ / And the Cat gave a smile.” Instead of allowing readers to infer the moral offered by this pat ending about second chances, the author supplies his own, which has little to do with the story. Nash does his best to meet the underlying good intentions of the text. From his palette to the clothing his characters wear, the illustrations have a retro feel that suits the Old West setting. His characters have a Richard Scarry look to them, especially the cat.
With phrases seemingly thrown in because they rhyme, not because they advance any sort of plot, this is one to skip. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4169-7483-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little Simon Inspirations/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Not one to stop for despite the appeal of the cartoony art style.
An intrepid member of Santa’s team saves Christmas.
When weary elves get into a fight just before Christmas Eve, Comet the reindeer steps in to break up the fisticuffs and is injured. The rhyming text describes how the doctor tells him he needs to rest and can’t help pull Santa’s sleigh that night, and then it reads, “Comet watched Santa get ready. / (His spot had been filled by / a rookie named Freddy.)” The singsong cadence and goofy phrasing of these lines is representative of the text as a whole, which goes on to reveal that Santa forgets to bring his bag filled with toys on the journey. No one notices this oversight since Freddy keeps them all entertained with silly songs. Injured Comet decides he must deliver the toys himself, and a comical sequence shows him struggling to lift an enormous bag onto his shoulders before giving up. Then he reads a tear-jerker of a letter to Santa from a selfless child, which inspires him to persist. He flies around the world in search of this child’s home, delivering toys until he finally finds the house he’s searching for in Oahu. At this point Santa calls “full of thanks-yous and praise, / so quick-thinking Comet / mentioned getting a raise,” an attempt at wit that both undercuts the message of selflessness and aims over the heads of most child readers. Santa presents White, and his elf employees are diverse.
Not one to stop for despite the appeal of the cartoony art style. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5420-4347-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Two Lions
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
Too many bugs, figuratively.
Lucy, “the youngest member of a family of fireflies,” must overcome an irrational, moon-induced anxiety in order to leave her family tree trunk and glow.
The first six pages pull readers into a lush, beautiful world of nighttime: “When the sun has set, silence falls over the Big Forest, and all of the nighttime animals wake up.” Mixed media provide an enchanting forest background, with stylized flora and fauna eventually illuminated by a large, benign moon, because the night “doesn’t like to catch them by surprise.” Turning the page catches readers by surprise, though: the family of fireflies is decidedly comical and silly-looking. Similarly, the text moves from a lulling, magical cadence to a distinct shift in mood as the bugs ready themselves for their foray into the night: “They wave their bottoms in the air, wiggle their feelers, take a deep, deep breath, and sing, ‘Here we go, it’s time to glow!’ ” It’s an acceptable change, but more unevenness follows. Lucy’s excitement about finally joining the other bugs turns to “sobbing” two nights in a row. Instead of directly linking her behavior to understandable reactions of children to newness, the text undermines itself by making Lucy’s parents’ sweet reassurances impotent and using the grandmother’s scientific explanation of moonlight as an unnecessary metaphor. Further detracting from the story, the text becomes ever denser and more complex over the book’s short span.
Too many bugs, figuratively. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-84-16147-00-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cuento de Luz
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2015
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