A pleasant Christmas fable.
An elderly Alaskan man meets a beautiful kitten who’s also Santa Claus’ friend in this picture book.
On a quiet, snowy December day, the narrator, a white-haired old man, opens his front door to find a white kitten waiting. How did it get to the isolated Alaskan cabin? Is it a Christmas present? The new arrival struts in, makes itself at home, and takes a nap. The blue-eyed kitten “had come out of the blue on a blue-gray day, so I named him Blue,” says the narrator. The two become fast friends, playing and cuddling together. The man takes Blue to an annual sled-dog race, but his dogs don’t show up. Impossibly, Blue begins pulling the sled faster than any canine could. Eskimo children are amazed by the kitten. Then an encounter with Santa reveals that Blue belongs to him and that he needs the feline to help deliver presents. In this book, Baer (Clueless in Cajun Country, 2017) offers a sweet story of friendship and love with a Christmas theme that also honors a cat’s personality; for example, only Blue gets to decide which white-haired old man he’ll stay with. Illustrator Gentry (The Cajun Cornbread Boy and the Buttermilk Biscuit Girl, 2017, etc.) nicely captures the characters’ warmth and appeal in watercolors throughout.
A pleasant Christmas fable.Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-976327-20-9
Page Count: 29
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018
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
<p>Perfectly fine but nothing new.</p>
Caregiver-child love abounds in this rhyming board book full of animal puns.
One thing’s for certain, there’s plenty of sweet (and groanworthy) sentiments in this book. Rossner writes, “Giving HOGS and kisses / sends me to the moon!” and, “I’m such a lucky DUCK. / You really QUACK me up!” The book progresses entirely in this fashion, with a new animal pair and pun with each page turn. It reads well as a book for a caregiver to share with a lap-sitting child. On that mark, it succeeds in providing plenty of opportunities for giggles and snuggles. That said, at times the meter is forced, making the cadence a bit stilted, and the cuddles/bubbles rhyme is a dubious one. This is an issue for a book that will almost solely be read aloud. Gibson’s illustrations are very charming; the animals and insects with big eyes and expressive faces have high appeal. The warmth of the animals’ embraces and cuddles translates well from the page, inviting the same snuggles from readers. Decorated eggs appear on each page, and the bunny pair from the cover features prominently. Overall, the concept and message of the book are high interest and age-appropriate, but it doesn’t stand out from the very crowded shelf of “I love you, little one!” books similar to it.
<p>Perfectly fine but nothing new.</p> (Board book. 6 mos.-2)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2343-8
Page Count: 25
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
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