This can’t match its classic ancestors, but it can play with them.
A rotten day can be fixed in the middle of the night.
Maggie’s opening litany of woes calls back to Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day: “the sun was the wrong shape, in a sky that was too blue. / Then, Maggie’s shoes would not go on properly. Her socks were even worse. / … / Finally, the spaghetti was too long.” At night, bright moonlight streams in, and nobody wants to go to bed. After Maggie and her mom each “almost explode,” Maggie bursts outdoors and rages herself into a wolf, evoking Where the Wild Things Are. Here, however, Maggie needs help expressing her feelings, and Mom joins her outside. Together they howl, prowl, and “dance…wildly under the moon.” Their newly lupine bodies—Maggie’s fangs; Maggie’s and Mom’s “long tails with bristling fur”—are only textual, never shown; however, their shadows look exactly like wolves. Maggie wears overalls and then red-striped pajamas. Illustrations are bright and sketchy, with a loose, windblown feeling and colored-pencil lines going everywhere in all directions; this matches Maggie’s frustration and then her freedom, though the visual mood doesn’t appreciably calm down when Maggie’s mood does. Maggie’s and Mom’s skin is the flat white of the background paper. Pair with Kyo Maclear and Isabelle Arsenault’s brilliant Virginia Wolf (2012).
This can’t match its classic ancestors, but it can play with them. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-950354-45-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scribble
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
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
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
