A beautifully illustrated, energetic, imaginative tale that shows a side of Halloween monsters that readers rarely think...
With an array of party food and good friends, witches give thanks just like the rest of us—only with roast warthog instead of turkey—in Ezpeleta’s picture book.
We’ve all heard stories about witches’ dastardly activities on Halloween night, but how do they celebrate other holidays, such as Thanksgiving? According to Ezpeleta, they celebrate in much the same way as regular people—with feasting. But the witches’ feast is made from yucky ingredients such as “A batch of toadstools / Found deep in the wood, / Toenails of snails / Would surely taste good.” But Thanksgiving isn’t just about gorging on warthog with rat tail gravy; for witches, like everyone else, holidays are about friends and family. Though the witches may not share our menus, they do offer gratitude for the same things. “ 'But mostly for friends' / Goblets raised ov’r head / 'A toast to good friends,' / They drank wine, blood red.” These witches, while horrifying on Halloween night, may be mistaken for friendly grandmothers by the time Thanksgiving rolls around. Grizelda the witch and her friends spare no effort to make their Thanksgiving feast memorable. Children will adore the gory images of disgusting ingredients making their way into the stew pot, while parents will appreciate the message of love embedded in the story. Ezpeleta, a children’s author with a master’s degree in teaching, offers rhymes that are funny, entertaining and easy to read out loud. A few of the lines are awkward, as if the rhyming word was forced into place instead of grown organically from the text, but overall the cadence is regular and word choice is appropriate. Romanian illustrator Budeanu livens up the text with bizarre, visually attractive pictures of witches gathering ingredients, cooking the feast, greeting friends and stuffing themselves. The pictures also feature a cast of characters—bats, cats and creepy crawlies—that make each reading feel fresh.
A beautifully illustrated, energetic, imaginative tale that shows a side of Halloween monsters that readers rarely think about—witches need friends, too.Pub Date: June 11, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4611-4665-0
Page Count: 27
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2011
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes.
A lift-the-flap book gives the littlest trick-or-treaters some practice identifying partygoers under their costumes.
Little Blue Truck and his buddy Toad are off to a party, and they invite readers (and a black cat) along for the ride: “ ‘Beep! Beep! Beep!’ / says Little Blue. / ‘It’s Halloween!’ / You come, too.” As they drive, they are surprised (and joined) by many of their friends in costume. “Who’s that in a tutu / striking a pose / up on the tiniest / tips of her toes? / Under the mask / who do you see?” Lifting the flap unmasks a friend: “ ‘Quack!’ says the duck. / ‘It’s me! It’s me!’ ” The sheep is disguised as a clown, the cow’s a queen, the pig’s a witch, the hen and her chick are pirates, and the horse is a dragon. Not to be left out, Little Blue has a costume, too. The flaps are large and sturdy, and enough of the animals’ characteristic features are visible under and around the costumes that little ones will be able to make successful guesses even on the first reading. Lovely curvy shapes and autumn colors fade to dusky blues as night falls, and children are sure to notice the traditional elements of a Halloween party: apple bobbing, lit jack-o’-lanterns, and punch and treats.
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-77253-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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