For families looking for a holiday adventure or parents hoping to improve a child’s behavior, this work may make a good...
A cranky little girl changes her behavior after a warning from one of Santa’s helpers in this debut rhyming Christmas book.
With bushy red hair and freckles, the narrator—who appears to be age 5 or 6 in the cartoonish images—throws a tantrum to avoid going to the mall on Christmas Eve. But her scheme doesn’t work—and it lands her on Santa’s naughty list. Her grumpy antics are interrupted by Glynt P. Spryte, one of Santa’s Behavioral Elves. He’s been trying to subtly adjust her conduct for months. Now that her deeds have crossed the line, he is paying her a visit. Glynt’s dire warning (no toys!) and his lack of hope that her behavior can improve in time for Christmas give the narrator just the push she needs to clean up her act. “But the best part is this—I LIKE who I’ve become,” she says on the final pages. Crighton’s lines scan well in her series opener, using a vocabulary overly advanced for her narrator’s age. The rhyme scheme and rhythm are reminiscent of Clement Clarke Moore’s famous Christmas poem, though the obvious message may not enthrall mischievous young readers. Glynt is a fun invention: a combination of angry and sorrowful wrapped up in a cowboy outfit. But the uncredited illustrations don’t match the story’s description (he’s called “young” and “handsome” but appears with gray sideburns and a Santa-esque figure).
For families looking for a holiday adventure or parents hoping to improve a child’s behavior, this work may make a good addition to their collections.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-947352-87-2
Page Count: 28
Publisher: BookBlastPro Inc.
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An enjoyable picture book that addresses important issues in a kid-friendly way without being preachy.
Willenbrock’s heartwarming debut picture book is the autobiographical story of how she came to share her home with a special shelter dog.
Told from the perspective of Marshall, Willenbrock’s dog, this tale tells of his unpleasant life in the home of a dog hoarder, where food for the dogs was so scarce that they fought each other at mealtime. In one of these fights, Marshall’s front leg was broken and his face was badly bitten. When animal rescuers finally found out about the animal hoarder and took the dogs away, Marshall was in such sorry shape that they didn’t know if he would make it. He ended up losing his damaged front leg and his face remained badly scarred, yet he describes the compassion of the humane society workers who helped him learn how to walk and run on three legs. He meets his new “mom” (owner) and adjusts to a life of freedom with her and her other dog, Mooshy. Though life is good, Marshall is insecure and nervous about how other dogs and people will react to the fact that he has only three legs and a big scar on his face, but he’s pleasantly surprised by the kindness of others. Heimbaugh’s realistic colored-pencil illustrations help bring Marshall’s story to life. Due to wordiness and the use of some bigger words—celebrity, socialize, limitations—this book will most likely work better as a read-aloud with school-age children. It also lends itself to discussions about the humane treatment of animals and discussions about bullying.
An enjoyable picture book that addresses important issues in a kid-friendly way without being preachy.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0615666259
Page Count: 40
Publisher: The Marshall Movement
Review Posted Online: Oct. 9, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Unanswered questions and heavy-handed writing drain intrigue from this not-so-spooky story.
Three friends unravel old secrets lurking beneath the surface of a picture-perfect town in this young adult mystery.
Fallon and her best friend, Blair, live in the town of Whitford, a “sort of old fashioned” place where “everyone knows everyone else.” Nothing ever goes wrong there, except for local 16-year-old girls’ penchant for drowning in Whitford Pond on their 16th birthdays. That is, nothing ever goes wrong until Blair, Fallon and their new friend Lila start investigating the drownings as part of a history project. Soon after the girls paddle out to the spooky island at the middle of the pond where its victims are buried, Fallon discovers that she’s related to the pond’s first victim: Elizabeth Mason, who was engaged to the prosperous son of the town jeweler before her supposed suicide in 1750. By poking around the town historical society and badgering Fallon’s lively grandmother, Nana, the girls realize that something sinister lurks beneath Whitford’s bucolic surface. It’s only when the trio heads to the fourth floor of Whitford’s public library in search of A Genealogy of the Noble Families of Whitford: A History that they realize their quest is putting them in danger. Blair and Fallon’s friendship feels comfortable and credible, although the addition of “exotic” Lila seems like a strained plot device rather than a real-life event. Indeed, much of the plotting is convenient rather than clever; the girls’ discoveries primarily result from pushing Nana to give them information or snooping around Nana’s house—and the developments that aren’t related to Nana are foreshadowed so heavily that they come as no surprise. Another distraction: Every time that the inhabitants of Whitford scream or emphasize a turn of phrase, Fredo uses capital letters. They’re are unnecessary, for example, when Fallon says, “I JUST HAD THE BEST IDEA EVER!”
Unanswered questions and heavy-handed writing drain intrigue from this not-so-spooky story.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 172
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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