Fourth-wall-breaking fun.
“You’re on your way!!! And you’re taking me with you, right?”
In Watt’s You’re Finally Here! (2011), a rabbit narrator expressed irritation that readers took so long to show up. This time, Bunny’s here to cheer audiences on: “Congrats! You did it! Off you go!” Where are readers going? That’s unclear, but either way, Bunny’s expecting to be their plus-one. “Do you know how much FUN we’d have together?” More fun than playing at the park, watching movies, or attending a birthday party. Bunny and readers would make a team stronger than “a volcano blast…stronger than duct tape…stronger than a superhero…stronger than the smell of stinky cheese!” And surely readers will feel lost if they’re parted from Bunny. “SO DON’T LEAVE ME BEHIND!!!” demands an overwrought Bunny before calming down. Bunny alternates between presenting readers with well-thought-out arguments and getting worked up. Finally, Bunny admits, “I’LL MISS YOU.” Bunny may have a few tricks in store to ensure readers get the message—and a few demands once kids decide to invite Bunny along (“I MUST travel by private jet you know”). Watt brings her big-eyed, bouncy protagonist back for a second salvo that’s shot through with encouragement and silliness. Wildly expressive Bunny again communicates directly with readers through speech bubbles set against wood-grained backgrounds; youngsters will be happy to let this exuberant rabbit accompany them wherever they go.
Fourth-wall-breaking fun. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780316584319
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.
Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.
This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-93809-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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