A fun, if unevenly executed, work for young cat lovers.
In author/illustrator Matthews’ picture book, a girl and her cat enter a surreal dreamland.
An unnamed young girl watches her cat, Kiwi, sleeping and wonders, “when Kiwi dreams, WHERE DOES HE GO?” The girl’s dad insists that Kiwi doesn’t go anywhere, but Kiwi awakens, winks at her, and offers to take her into his dreams. Together they go on a strange journey told in rhyming verse, accompanied by mostly black-and-white, pen-and-ink sketches, although Kiwi’s eyes are green. Much like actual dreams, the story is fragmented and a bit nonsensical; for instance, Kiwi and the narrator fall into a dungeon guarded by a queen resembling the girl’s mother. (The girl and her mother appear White.) A moment later, the girl flies away on a witch’s broom, only to land in a zoo’s popcorn machine. After a few more surreal adventures, the girl wakes and Kiwi, with another wink, asks to check out her dreams tonight. The rhyme scheme arbitrarily switches from couplets to ABAB rhymes and back again, which could make reading aloud awkward. The highly detailed humans sometimes look odd, with unnatural expressions or lifeless eyes. The cats, however, are the book’s strongest suit; they show more emotion than the human faces and are exquisitely natural-looking, with well-drawn fur and whiskers that make them feel lifelike.
A fun, if unevenly executed, work for young cat lovers.Pub Date: June 24, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-9914513-3-3
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Brightshadow Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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BOOK REVIEW
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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