Well-intentioned, though not well-thought-through. Tum’s not worth your time.
Kitty cat (and human boy stand-in) Tumford Stoutt learns a lesson about rude noises.
This Tuesday, Sweet Apple Green is in for a ruckus. Tum beats his drum. He makes bubbles in his dish. He burps and giggles at the table. His parents aren’t pleased, but Tum doesn’t care. He likes the attention. Then in front of the Sweet Apple Guild, Tum does the unforgivable: toots the patootie trumpet. Mom and Dad put him in timeout. With a little help from readers, Tum learns not all attention is good. Tumford’s second didactic tale suffers many of the same problems of his first. Thankfully, his strange and disturbing clothes are gone (save for a bandanna). However, the equally distressing, clunky, forced-rhyme verse is still in evidence, as well as the previous book's illogic. Young audiences will scratch their heads over Tum eating from a bowl on the floor and then a plate at the table. Their parents will wonder why the lesson isn’t “don’t be rude” or “apologize for rudeness” (which we thought we learned in Tumford the Terrible, 2011), but is instead: Public displays of gas lead to punishment. Tillman’s precious illustrations mesh better with her treacly, sentiment-laden titles than with this practical lesson in etiquette.
Well-intentioned, though not well-thought-through. Tum’s not worth your time. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-312-36841-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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