Like a mailbox overstuffed with gifts, Dubuc's animal scenes are a delight and well worth the wait.
A dedicated postal worker, who happens to be a small mouse, makes the daily deliveries in a lively dispatch from Dubuc.
Mr. Postmouse is a busy worker; he tirelessly pulls a wagon stacked high with packages for the animal residents who make up his daily route. That means climbing ladders to get to the Birds’ several homes, scaling snowy peaks for the Mountain Goats, and hoping that scary Mr. Snake isn't receiving anything today. The double-page spreads that make up each leg of the journey are rendered in sneakily detailed cross-sections of the interiors of these homes. The Rabbit family's house, with carrots planted in the roof, leads to underground rooms that feature high-stacked bunk beds and, amusingly, a toilet in use. Mr. Snake's hothouse home stretches over multiple pages, while the Ants have a predictably busy belowground infrastructure. Young readers may miss a few jokes, allusions, and background stories along the way, but it's all the more reason to revisit Mr. Postmouse's mail duties again. The scenes playing out in the various tableaux are playful but never cutesy. Mr. Postmouse's fear of Mr. Snake and the stacked sheep inside Mr. Wolf's home allude to dangers in the animal world that Mr. Postmouse seems adept at avoiding.
Like a mailbox overstuffed with gifts, Dubuc's animal scenes are a delight and well worth the wait. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-77138-572-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: April 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2015
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers.
The bestselling series (How to Catch an Elf, 2016, etc.) about capturing mythical creatures continues with a story about various ways to catch the Easter Bunny as it makes its annual deliveries.
The bunny narrates its own story in rhyming text, beginning with an introduction at its office in a manufacturing facility that creates Easter eggs and candy. The rabbit then abruptly takes off on its delivery route with a tiny basket of eggs strapped to its back, immediately encountering a trap with carrots and a box propped up with a stick. The narrative focuses on how the Easter Bunny avoids increasingly complex traps set up to catch him with no explanation as to who has set the traps or why. These traps include an underground tunnel, a fluorescent dance floor with a hidden pit of carrots, a robot bunny, pirates on an island, and a cannon that shoots candy fish, as well as some sort of locked, hazardous site with radiation danger. Readers of previous books in the series will understand the premise, but others will be confused by the rabbit’s frenetic escapades. Cartoon-style illustrations have a 1960s vibe, with a slightly scary, bow-tied bunny with chartreuse eyes and a glowing palette of neon shades that shout for attention.
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3817-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
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