For a book that really comes down to a sick kid yelping for his mother, his nose so clogged it needs dynamite to clear, the...
When you’re sick and stuffy, some letters—like T’s and L’s and M’s—disappear.
Little Louie, a young—well, “it wasn’t like he needed his mom every minute of the day”—black kid, has caught a cold. A nasty cold: ears crackled, brain full of sog, nose dripping enough mucus to launch a ship. And when you get a nasty cold, well, “maybe his mom should check on him kind of often.” The cry goes out: “BOB!” Now, as it happens, the house pooch, an ever faithful Great Dane, is named Bob. So, Bob comes running. Little Louie tries again: “I wan by BOB, not BOB!” (Sharp-eyed youngsters will note that one “Bob” has a heart in the middle of the O, and one does not.) Soon enough, kids will figure it out: it’s a case of the stuffed-nose, missing M. Scanlon and Vernick’s text is sweet without treacle, and it gives Little Louie’s long-suffering couple of sick days a good ride. Cordell’s artwork is terrific. The pages have action without clutter, and Louie has a little chicken-necked balloon head with brown skin, feverish red cheeks, and the most splendid mauve pajamas.
For a book that really comes down to a sick kid yelping for his mother, his nose so clogged it needs dynamite to clear, the story has a lot of adorable acreage. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4847-2302-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A forgettable tale.
Dot, the smallest reindeer at the North Pole, is too little to fly with the reindeer team on Christmas Eve, but she helps Santa in a different, unexpected way.
Dot is distressed because she can’t jump and fly like the other, bigger reindeer. Her family members encourage her and help her practice her skills, and her mother tells her, “There’s always next year.” Dot’s elf friend, Oliver, encourages her and spends time playing with her, doing things that Dot can do well, such as building a snowman and chasing their friend Yeti (who looks like a fuzzy, white gumdrop). On Christmas Eve, Santa and the reindeer team take off with their overloaded sleigh. Only Dot notices one small present that’s fallen in the snow, and she successfully leaps into the departing sleigh with the gift. This climactic flying leap into the sleigh is not adequately illustrated, as Dot is shown just starting to leap and then already in the sleigh. A saccharine conclusion notes that being little can sometimes be great and that “having a friend by your side makes anything possible.” The story is pleasant but predictable, with an improbably easy solution to Dot’s problem. Illustrations in a muted palette are similarly pleasant but predictable, with a greeting-card flavor that lacks originality. The elf characters include boys, girls, and adults; all the elves and Santa and Mrs. Claus are white.
A forgettable tale. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-338-15738-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
Delightful and engaging.
Preschoolers can follow a little brown mouse on its traveling adventures in this engaging color concept book.
As the book starts, a little mouse can be seen packing up her equally itty-bitty suitcase. Rhyming text with a wonderful read-aloud rhythm introduces readers to the little mouse’s street: “Red house / Blue house / Green house / Tree house! / See the tiny mouse / in her little brown house?” Clean-lined, colorful illustrations in Gómez’s signature style lead readers along: into a flower-filled garden; on a ride on a red city bus; in a potted windowsill plant attended by a child; on the curb where a group of people wait to cross a street; in an underwater scene with “one gigantic whale!”; and on a jolly ride that employs a string of vehicles. The little mouse is not mentioned again, making it easy for readers to forget it as they get caught up in the myriad delightful details of each illustration. No problem there. The book ends with “and did you spot that mouse?” This should send children back to the beginning, this time in earnest search of the little mouse and her itty-bitty suitcase. Should children need further enticement to read the book again, travel patches on the endpapers invite readers to match them to the relevant part in the story. The people depicted are diverse both racially as well as in physical ability.
Delightful and engaging. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-55381-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
