A comical children’s story with an earnest takeaway hampered by an underwhelming execution.
Lucille, a rubber chicken, yearns for something more in Petrisin’s illustrated children’s book.
As a rubber chicken belonging to a clown named Peaches, Lucille is the butt of many jokes. Peaches juggles her along with bowling pins, uses her as a bicycle horn, and even squirts water at her from trick flowers during circus performances. Lucille wants more for herself—she wants to be a real chicken. While on the train to yet another tour stop, Lucille spots a farm with a group of hens. She sneaks away as the circus tent is being set up to speak to them, but they aren’t very welcoming; the farm chickens question every aspect of her being, determined to put her in her place. When they ask her to scratch in the dirt, she only flops in the dust; when they ask her to cluck, she can only honk. (She can’t even ruffle her feathers, because she doesn’t have any.) They pelt her with eggs—only to find that she can catch them all and juggle them. When the chickens find this hilarious, Lucille realizes that she misses home. (“‘I can’t scratch, cluck, fluff, or even lay eggs,’ she thought. ‘But I CAN make people laugh!’”) She reunites triumphantly with Peaches, this time with a new understanding allowing her to perform on her own terms. Lucille’s lesson about staying true to herself is a worthy theme for Petrisin’s yarn, a follow-up to the author’s chapter book Acorn and Button (2022). The book’s premise may seem a little silly initially, but the story is in fact very sincere, if lacking in dimension. Petrisin’s illustrations leave something to be desired with their amateurish style, particularly on page 14, where the close-up of the circus tent reveals very flat digital colors and fuzzy lines in stark contrast to the watercolor landscape around it. Still, the narrative is engagingly playful and conveys a strong message.
A comical children’s story with an earnest takeaway hampered by an underwhelming execution.Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2025
ISBN: 9781957656878
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Monarch Educational Services, L.L.C.
Review Posted Online: June 20, 2025
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
BOOK REVIEW
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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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