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THE HUNT

Name: THE HUNT
Author: Margaux Othats
ISBN: 978-0-9972219-0-9

by Margaux Othats ; illustrated by Margaux Othats ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 15, 2017

A simple story with a powerful anti-violence message.

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A small child creates a stone sculpture despite the repeated efforts of hunters to destroy it.

As the child positions a stone on a small pile of rocks, two adults with rifles appear, shoot the rocks, and run away. The child rebuilds, adding a large boulder. The hunters reappear, shoot the construction to pieces, and disappear. Again, the child assembles a larger rock mound and the hunters return, blast it, and flee. Undaunted, the child constructs a larger sculpture with a head and ears. Again, the hunters obliterate it. Eventually, the child creates a huge sculpture resembling a dog that rises up on its hind legs, chases the hunters, and grabs one by the shirt as the child sits triumphantly astride its back. This wordless, mystifying, repetitious encounter between destructive hunters and persevering child unfolds in a vertical page-turn format. Rendered in softly shaded colored pencil, the limited palette of grey, black, pale peach, green, and red fosters a surreal atmosphere. Appearing like cutouts against the white background, the featureless hunters and child, all pale-skinned with black hair, provide no clues. Who are these hunters, and why are they shooting the child’s sculpture? The final diagonal movement of the stone sculpture descending downward across the double-page spread adds visual drama to this cryptic battle between creativity and destruction.

A simple story with a powerful anti-violence message. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: March 15, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-9972219-0-9

Page Count: 36

Publisher: Penny Candy

Review Posted Online: Dec. 25, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

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FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)