A fun and festive Halloween story.
A crow takes readers on a tour of a monster-filled hotel in Mark Kibbe and Susan Kibbe's rhyming picture book.
On “Hallows of Eve,” a top hat– and bow tie–wearing crow named Old Carnie guides readers through the Monster Hotel, a decrepit old dwelling that may remind some readers of the Victorian home of TV's Addams family. Though the place is dark, filled with cobwebs and dust, and “smells like gym socks, it’s a coveted year-round destination for spooky guests, including monsters, trolls, mummies, and more. Although these creatures have a blast at the hotel, Old Carnie warns that human visitors should stay away, explaining that the Monster Hotel guests “have never seen children” before and would be frightened: “They would jump out of windows, and climb under chairs.” However, the crow muses that maybe, just maybe, on Halloween night: “If you dress like a monster and your costume is right, you can visit the Monster Hotel in disguise.” Children will enjoy following Old Carnie’s rhyming descriptions of the quirky happenings at an atmospheric place: “The doors are all broken; there are weeds for a lawn. The tree in the yard is all shriveled and black.” The spooky characters are more friendly than scary—even the skeletons smile—making the story suitable for young readers. Witherspoon's full-color illustrations offer cartoonish depictions of the Monster Hotel’s amusing scenes, such as the snoozing Vlad the vampire wearing an eye mask. The book also has goblins swimming in the hotel pool, trolls playing chess, and singing and dancing ghosts.
A fun and festive Halloween story.Pub Date: Aug. 17, 2020
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 27
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property.
Since a reformed Grinch is hardly any fun, this follow-up Grinches him up once more.
Those seeking more of the same, prepare to receive precisely that. Christmas is coming (again!), and the Grinch can hardly wait. He’s been patient all year, and now he can finally show the Whos down in Who-ville how much he’s changed. When the Grinch learns of a tree-decorating contest, he figures that if he wins, it’ll prove he truly has the Christmas spirit. He throws himself into the task, but when it comes time to judge the trees, the Grinch is horrified to discover that he’s received only the second-place trophy. Can Cindy-Lou Who find the words to save the day? Replicating many of the original beats and wordplay of the original, this tale feels like less a sequel and more like a vaguely rewritten variation. Meanwhile, Ruiz’s art seeks to bridge the gap between the animated Chuck Jones version of the Grinch and the one depicted in the original book. This thankless task results in a strange uncanny valley between Seuss and Jones but does allow the artist a chance to colorize everything and lend some racial diversity to the Who population (Cindy-Lou is light-skinned). (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9780593563168
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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