A rhyming seek and find makes this book a sure bet for a cozy read-aloud. On the right-hand side, Collicott’s (Toestomper and the Caterpillars, 1999, etc.) animal witches fill the page, each unique and with its own witchy hat. They are hard at work, acting, eating, sewing, playing . . . and making trouble. On the left-hand page, Barrett (I Knew Two Who Said Moo, 2000, etc.) presents a mystery—“Which witch is learning to stitch?” and four rhyming questions to help the reader pinpoint the correct witch in the illustration—“Is it the one wearing socks? / Is it the one eating lox?” While in many cases it is obvious which witch it is, the questions give the reader other details to look for in the pictures. And a good thing, too, since many of the activities will be unknown to children on the first reading. The text has the added bonus of highlighting all the rhyming words in colorful fonts, as well as introducing new ones—lean, glum, smug, lox, and nook, among others. Children will delight in the detailed drawings—new things will appear with each reading, and with the text as a model, they will get better and better at describing what they see. A clever and fun book that will have kids learning without even knowing it. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-82940-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A grand, if unsubtle, cousin to William Joyce’s Santa Calls (1993). Smug little rich girl Sophie Kringle has a great-aunt who lives in high style atop the palatial Bing Cherry Hotel, vacating only for her mysterious annual “business trip” between Halloween and Valentine’s Day. One year, Sophie stows away in Auntie Claus’s luggage, and ends up at the North Pole, pressed into hard service as an elf. When she catches sight of the Bad-Boys-And-Girls list, and finds her little brother’s name on it, she reacts with uncharacteristic, newly mustered compassion, erasing his name and adding her own in it’s place; suddenly she’s sharing a stage with Auntie, who turns out to be Santa’s sister and, having learned that it is better to give than to receive (“the first and final rule,” as Auntie calls it), is whisked home just in time for Christmas. Tall and slender in fur-trimmed red, Auntie Claus cuts as elegant a figure amidst the North Pole’s snowy bustle as she does in her sparsely appointed New York digs; most of Primavera’s expansive scenes are underlit to add an air of mystery, and presided over by looming background figures: Santa, the Statue of Liberty, a huge, moon-faced snowman. A promising bid for holiday bestsellerdom. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201909-X
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1999
In this third book about Alison (Alison's Wings, 1996, etc.), she and her friend Cindy dress as pirates for Halloween, and are unhappy when no one is frightened by them. When an old woman declares her ``cute,'' Alison's frustration gives way to a foolish act: She throws a handful of pebbles at the woman's door. The next day she confesses and cleans up. This dull entry will convince few emerging readers to go on to Bauer's more challenging works; the plot is a door-to-door description of the trick-or-treat trail, without conveying any of the suspense of Halloween. Those who haven't met Alison previously will have no sense of her character, and the repeated use of the phrase ``fierce and ugly'' becomes a strain. (illustrations, not seen) (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-7868-2262-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1997
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