An affectionate, expressive depiction of a Jewish family celebration.
Come celebrate Purim with Ruby and her family.
Ruby, her little brother, Benny, her father, and her grandmother have fun making hamantaschen in several delicious flavors to share with relatives. Bubbe helps Benny make a grogger, a Purim noisemaker. Then Ruby discovers that her very special ruby ring, a Hanukkah gift from Bubbe, is missing, and thorough searches by Dad and other relatives, who have arrived to celebrate, come up empty. Through it all, Benny shouts, “Grogger!” and shakes his noisemaker, irritating an already upset Ruby. But it’s time to go to the synagogue for the reading of the megillah. Ruby dresses as Queen Esther, Benny is a lion, and the cousins are all in costumes as well. Groggers are shaken at every mention of Haman’s name, with boos thrown in for good measure. Ruby participates, but her heart isn’t in it, for the ring is very much on her mind. Finally, the ring is found—as it turns out, the clues to its location have been there all along. Ruby, Benny, their father, and most other family members are dark-haired and tan-skinned; one cousin is slightly darker-skinned. Gehl tells the story simply, with emphasis on the loving interactions of the extended family and their joy in the Jewish traditions of Purim; brightly hued illustrations bring to life Ruby’s sadness, frustration, and, finally, relief. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An affectionate, expressive depiction of a Jewish family celebration. (a note about Purim, instructions on making a grogger) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9780807571804
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers.
The bestselling series (How to Catch an Elf, 2016, etc.) about capturing mythical creatures continues with a story about various ways to catch the Easter Bunny as it makes its annual deliveries.
The bunny narrates its own story in rhyming text, beginning with an introduction at its office in a manufacturing facility that creates Easter eggs and candy. The rabbit then abruptly takes off on its delivery route with a tiny basket of eggs strapped to its back, immediately encountering a trap with carrots and a box propped up with a stick. The narrative focuses on how the Easter Bunny avoids increasingly complex traps set up to catch him with no explanation as to who has set the traps or why. These traps include an underground tunnel, a fluorescent dance floor with a hidden pit of carrots, a robot bunny, pirates on an island, and a cannon that shoots candy fish, as well as some sort of locked, hazardous site with radiation danger. Readers of previous books in the series will understand the premise, but others will be confused by the rabbit’s frenetic escapades. Cartoon-style illustrations have a 1960s vibe, with a slightly scary, bow-tied bunny with chartreuse eyes and a glowing palette of neon shades that shout for attention.
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3817-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note.
Little Honey Bunny Funnybunny loves baseball almost as much as she loves her big brother P.J.—though it’s a close-run thing.
Readers familiar with the pranks P.J. plays on his younger sibling in older episodes of the series (most illustrated by Roger Bollen) will be amused—and perhaps a little confused—to see him in the role of perfect big brother after meeting his swaddled little sister for the first time in mama’s lap. But here, along with being a constant companion and “always happy to see her,” he cements his heroic status in her eyes by hitting a home run for his baseball team and then patiently teaching her how to play T-ball. After carefully coaching her and leading her through warm-up exercises, he even sits in the stands, loudly cheering her on as she scores the winning run in her own very first game. “‘You are the best brother a bunny could ever have!’” she burbles. This tale’s a tad blander compared with others centered on P.J. and his sister, but it’s undeniably cheery, with text well structured for burgeoning readers. The all-smiles animal cast in Bowers’ cartoon art features a large and diversely hued family of bunnies sporting immense floppy ears as well as a multispecies crowd of furry onlookers equally varied of color, with one spectator in a wheelchair.
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note. (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9798217032464
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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