Mwah, mwah! A well-played tribute to all things kiss-related.
Innovative art and mostly rhyming verse produce a lighthearted primer about the titular subject.
This odd but appealing book immediately grabs readers’ attention with the cover art’s chain of garishly colorful faces, each featuring wildly extended lips as they kiss the neck or cheek in front of them. An unidentified narrator asserts, “I love kisses, all kinds and colors of them.” As fancifully hued human figures, geometric shapes, and stylized flora and fauna float about, so do phrases such as “big smackeroos” and “sweet smooches.” Throughout, brief rhyming verses describe kisses from relatives, pals, and pets. Many observations will elicit chuckles: “Kisses from friends can sometimes be sticky, / and the loudest kisses are the ones from Aunt Vicky.” Another page re-creates a kiss from the film Titanic as the narrator complains, “Lovey-dovey kisses can be a bit much.” Morros includes a few facts, such as words associated with kiss sounds in other languages. She also encourages youngsters to say no if a kiss isn’t desired. The joie de vivre of Tolosa’s artwork is perfectly complementary, catapulting each page into the next. Ross’ thoughtful translation from the original Spanish ensures that the text provides an easy read-aloud to a beloved child or group of youngsters.
Mwah, mwah! A well-played tribute to all things kiss-related. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9788410406582
Page Count: 36
Publisher: NubeOcho
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
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
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
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)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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