Not one to hurry to swipe off the shelf.
The fourth title in the Claris Collection features a Christmastime crime.
Claris the Parisian mouse is delighted to be in New York City with her feline pal, Monsieur, and their human family—though the child in the family is called “the Brat” and she lives up to the name. While this moniker may be off-putting, the rhymed verse peppered with French phrases largely focuses on Claris and her escapades in the big city. The rather cloying tone seems aimed more at adult fashionistas than child readers, as designer name-dropping abounds, and Hess uses her background in fashion illustration to depict Claris getting all gussied up to go shopping. While she and the family await their driver, the très chic rodent spies homeless mice shivering in the cold and begging for food. Their plight weighs on Claris as she heads to Cartier, but her attention soon shifts to the titular holiday heist: While in the glamorous shop, she and Monsieur see another pet, this one in a carrying case, swipe a ruby ring. They pursue the thief and reclaim the jewelry before the person who brought it to the shop notices it’s missing. The book ends with Claris giving aid to the homeless mice, though this subplot seems forced and superfluous to the rest of the book. Claris and Monsieur’s human family presents White; there are some characters of color in the background.
Not one to hurry to swipe off the shelf. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-76050-495-3
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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
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