Personality and a developmental message successfully combine for STEAM fun.
Meg stands out as a brilliant boxitect—until Simone comes along.
Meg makes all sorts of things out of boxes: “tiny houses, tall towers, twisty tunnels,” and inventions no one else had seen before. When Meg goes to Maker School, she finds “blanketeers, spaghetti-tects, tin-foilers, and egg-cartoners,” but as the first boxitect in class, she feels special. But then Simone comes along. She’s brilliant and creative like Meg—and a boxitect, just like Meg. Instead of hitting it off, the two are immediate rivals, trading snide remarks and criticizing each other’s work. When the school competition rolls around and students have to work in teams, the boxitect team is the one that is not going smoothly. Meg and Simone split up the materials and compete with each other to make the better half. But when their infighting proves disastrous, the pair quickly learns to work together, gaining skills and friendship. The story arc contains just enough suspense to keep readers interested, and the humorous text is engaging. Smith’s cartoon illustrations are a combination of double-page spreads, full-page scenes, and smaller vignettes that use a variety of shapes, patterns, and contrasting colors for a lively and creative maker’s world. Meg’s brown skin and puffy hair and Simone’s Asian presentation put this in the growing and necessary category of picture books that feature modern diverse characters doing everyday things.
Personality and a developmental message successfully combine for STEAM fun. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-328-47720-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
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
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...
Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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