A captivating retelling of the Nativity for kids.
Jesus’ birth is seen through the eyes of a mouse in this winsome holiday storybook.
Clarke recaps the Gospel Nativity story through the perspective of Maor, an old mouse living in the Bethlehem stable where Joseph and Mary take shelter and Mary delivers Jesus. (Other barnyard animals are present, including a nervous dove called Mendel, a stentorian goose called Gettel, and a cow called Rebecca, whose feed trough makes a serviceable crib.) Jesus’ birth is a hushed affair marked by a quiet holiness emanating from the infant “like a soft breeze,” but it soon draws attention: Poor shepherd boys appear, told by an angel to seek out the newborn babe; the Three Wise Men arrive from the East, summoned by a dream and bearing gifts of gold, myrrh, and frankincense. This rendition of the foundational Christian narrative unfolds in spare but limpid prose that emphasizes the simple humanity of the Holy Family. (“Joseph pressed a damp cloth to his warm body and then washed his son. He gently wrapped the newborn in his best headscarf and placed Him in the arms of His mother.”) Clarke can also write in a more exalted register as awestruck beasts take in the celestial celebration of Christ’s advent. (“Suddenly, it was as if the stable roof opened, and a cloudburst of music gushed forth from the heavens. A thick foggy mist appeared around the stable rafters filled with tiny specks of light the size of a grain of sand.”) Kenny’s illustrations are realistic but also atmospheric with rich chiaroscuro; the people are suffused with unobtrusive joy, and the vividly drawn animals display inquisitive gazes. Her color scheme paints a world of subdued browns, grays, and olive greens that, in moments of divine drama, suddenly erupts with light and color. Children will like the critters, the vibrant visuals, and the homey details in this luminous version of the original Christmas story.
A captivating retelling of the Nativity for kids.Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2025
ISBN: 9798991416122
Page Count: 64
Publisher: CCE Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Little Blue Truck keeps on truckin’—but not without some backfires.
Little Blue Truck feels, well, blue when he delivers valentine after valentine but receives nary a one.
His bed overflowing with cards, Blue sets out to deliver a yellow card with purple polka dots and a shiny purple heart to Hen, one with a shiny fuchsia heart to Pig, a big, shiny, red heart-shaped card to Horse, and so on. With each delivery there is an exchange of Beeps from Blue and the appropriate animal sounds from his friends, Blue’s Beeps always set in blue and the animal’s vocalization in a color that matches the card it receives. But as Blue heads home, his deliveries complete, his headlight eyes are sad and his front bumper droops ever so slightly. Blue is therefore surprised (but readers may not be) when he pulls into his garage to be greeted by all his friends with a shiny blue valentine just for him. In this, Blue’s seventh outing, it’s not just the sturdy protagonist that seems to be wilting. Schertle’s verse, usually reliable, stumbles more than once; stanzas such as “But Valentine’s Day / didn’t seem much fun / when he didn’t get cards / from anyone” will cause hitches during read-alouds. The illustrations, done by Joseph in the style of original series collaborator Jill McElmurry, are pleasant enough, but his compositions often feel stiff and forced.
Little Blue Truck keeps on truckin’—but not without some backfires. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-358-27244-1
Page Count: 20
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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