Charming images enliven occasionally stilted text in a book that imparts a useful life lesson.
A mouse and frog learn that cooperating is more fun than arguing over who’s best in Smit’s illustrated children’s book.
This lively narrative opens with a dialogue between Mouse and Frog, with each describing the qualities that make one better than the other, while also imparting some fun facts about each animal. Frog notes, for example, that he can “see all around in the darkness of night” while Mouse says that she can hear “the softest of sounds.” Soon, Mouse decides that “learning from others can help us to grow,” and the pair quickly become friends. They realize that each can use their skills to help the other, and that the reader should “love who you are cause there’s only one you!” The format of Smit’s book changes partway through, which may cause young readers to stumble a bit; for the first half, Mouse and Frog take turns talking, and then halfway through, a third-person narrator comes into play. Still, the story’s simple lesson of cooperation and self-acceptance is a worthy one. The brevity and simplicity of the text will encourage new readers. However, the rhymes occasionally feel a bit forced: “It’s a fun froggy trick, / a great trick you should note: / I can use both my eyes / to push food down my throat!” The book’s greatest strength is Caron’s watercolor art, which has a cheerful lightness and brightness that imbues Mouse and Frog with lively character. Audiences young and old will enjoy lingering over the images’ details, and because each illustration is surrounded by plenty of white space, the eye is immediately drawn to the pictures first and text second. Although the animals are anthropomorphized—for example, both sport rosy cheeks—they’re otherwise delightfully realistic in their portrayals.
Charming images enliven occasionally stilted text in a book that imparts a useful life lesson.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2024
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.
Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.
Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781464268076
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2026
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