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MARY HAS A BABY

Name: MARY HAS A BABY
Author: Mieke van Hooft
ISBN: 978-1-60537-304-1

by Mieke van Hooft ; illustrated by Lonneke Leever ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2016

The book’s charming art is hampered by the inferior translation of the text.

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This Nativity story, first published in Belgium and Holland, uses rhyming verse and innovative paper-collage illustrations to present the narrative of the birth of Jesus.

Leever’s art uses cut-paper elements layered in collages with a bright palette of jewel-toned papers. Intriguing details are provided by tiny snips of paper for Joseph’s beard, real straw in the stable, and curly strips of white paper for the sheep’s wool. Some of the papers have different textures, and other, three-dimensional elements add depth to several scenes. The proportions of the animals and their charming expressions are particularly noteworthy, and the faces of the human characters are also expressive and believable. The angel appearing to the shepherds, however, looks out of place in a little girl’s short, star-spangled dress, as the rest of the cast is dressed in long robes. The characters all have light skin except for one of the wise men, who has dark skin and a black beard. The rhyming text, translated without credit from the Dutch, has several issues. Some of the verses are just right, and others scan awkwardly, while the final spread has an unfortunate typo that mars the overall effect. And the text is actively at war with the pictures when the wise men are called “very old,” as they have smooth skin and no gray in their hair.

The book’s charming art is hampered by the inferior translation of the text. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-60537-304-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clavis

Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

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LOVE FROM THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR

by Eric Carle ; illustrated by Eric Carle ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 15, 2015

Safe to creep on by.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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by Eric Carle ; illustrated by Eric Carle

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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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)