The book’s charming art is hampered by the inferior translation of the text.
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
Sadly, the storytelling runs aground.
A little red sleigh has big Christmas dreams.
Although the detailed, full-color art doesn’t anthropomorphize the protagonist (which readers will likely identify as a sled and not a sleigh), a close third-person text affords the object thoughts and feelings while assigning feminine pronouns. “She longed to become Santa’s big red sleigh,” reads an early line establishing the sleigh’s motivation to leave her Christmas-shop home for the North Pole. Other toys discourage her, but she perseveres despite creeping self-doubt. A train and truck help the sleigh along, and when she wishes she were big, fast, and powerful like them, they offer encouragement and counsel patience. When a storm descends after the sleigh strikes out on her own, an unnamed girl playing in the snow brings her to a group of children who all take turns riding the sleigh down a hill. When the girl brings her home, the sleigh is crestfallen she didn’t reach the North Pole. A convoluted happily-ever-after ending shows a note from Santa that thanks the sleigh for giving children joy and invites her to the North Pole next year. “At last she understood what she was meant to do. She would build her life up spreading joy, one child at a time.” Will she leave the girl’s house to be gifted to other children? Will she stay and somehow also reach ever more children? Readers will be left wondering. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 31.8% of actual size.)
Sadly, the storytelling runs aground. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-72822-355-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
Cookie-cutter predictability.
After all the daring escapes in the How To Catch… series, will the kids be able to catch Santa?
Oddly, previous installments saw the children trying (and failing) to catch an elf and a reindeer, but both are easily captured in this story. Santa, however, is slippery. Tempted but not fooled by poinsettias, a good book (attached to a slingshot armed with a teddy bear projectile), and, of course, milk and cookies, Santa foils every plan. The hero in a red suit has a job to do. Presents must be placed, and lists must be checked. He has no time for traps and foolery (except if you’re the elf, who falls for every one of them). Luckily, Santa helps the little rascal escape each time. Little is new here—the kids resort to similar snares found in previous works: netting, lures, and technological wonders such as the Santa Catcher 5000. Although the rhythm falters quite a bit (“How did we get out you ask? / It looked like we were done for. / Santa’s magic is very real, / and I cannot reveal more”), fans of the series may not mind. Santa and Christmas just might be enough to overcome the flaws. Santa and the elf are light-skinned, one of the children is brown-skinned, and the other presents as Asian. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Cookie-cutter predictability. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781728274270
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
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