Davis’s (Who Hoots?, not reviewed, etc.) story has a bad case of the fidgets, which won’t go far in curing any youngster’s willies, but if nothing else, maybe the ants it drops in the pants of its readers will take their mind off their groundless fears. A little girl is scared stiff of the neighborhood dog (“There’s Ono. That’s not his real name. I call him that because every time I see him I say, ‘Oh, no!’ ”), and the creepy monsters in the hedge, and the snakes slithering out from under the door of her closet. Stopgap measures are all she has devised to handle these fears—bolting from the dog, singing a silly song for the monsters, never opening the closet door—until she decides to become a witch, “because witches aren’t afraid of anything.” She cackles, but that’s not enough; she holds her breath until she turns blue (then she remembers witches are green); she puts on long fingernails, but they fall off. She says the magic word—“Please”—and she feels different (though why is a mystery). She confronts the closet: “ ‘Oh, yeah!’ I remembered. ‘I’m a fearless witch!’ ” The snakes turn out to be shoelaces; the monsters turn out to be bushes; the dog is a big cuddlehead. Presto, fears-aren’t-us. Believe that and there’s a bridge you might want to buy. Zany perspectives, asides in balloons, images bleeding out of their frames, colors electric enough to make your teeth sing—but a story line with enough holes in it to drain spaghetti. (Picture book. 2-5)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-15-202305-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An upbeat Easter outing with a beloved character.
Pookie celebrates Easter with a play date and holiday activities.
Pookie’s friend Bean, a gray puppy, comes over for Easter fun that includes lots of bouncing around and egg decorating. After Bean goes home, Pookie gets excited about the Easter Bunny’s arrival and goes to sleep dreaming of a large chocolate egg. Like the other Pookie books before it, this one is told in rhyme from the perspective of a loving grown-up addressing the little pig, which keeps the pace moving and makes for a great read-aloud. Bean and Pookie are realistically—and endearingly—childlike, from Pookie’s pronunciation of yellow as “lellow!” to the joyful mess they make while decorating eggs. There are plenty of sweet and festive touches, such as the bunny ears that Bean and Pookie (and Pookie’s teddy) wear and the daffodils painted on the end of Pookie’s bed. The illustrations include large, full-page images as well as smaller vignettes against solid backgrounds. One page shows Pookie and parent looking out the window at the moon, anticipating Easter’s spoils. For fans of Boynton and little Pookie, this Easter tale is exactly as expected: a touch of playfulness, a relatable story, and comfort in the familiar. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An upbeat Easter outing with a beloved character. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-66592-838-0
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Boynton Bookworks
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
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