Both a purr-fect pet story and a vibrant celebration of cultural identity.
The tale of a cat and her boy.
Loaf—so named because she resembles a loaf of bread when curled up—loves hiding, napping in the sun, and chasing rubber bands thrown by her boy, a young Indigenous child. Loaf adores the boy, who shows off his grass-dancing moves, with his long, braided hair and the ribbons on his regalia spinning as he twirls. One day, the boy and his family leave. Loaf knows something’s going on, so she escapes through a window (“Because I am a genius, it was not hard”) and follows the boy’s scent to a powwow. She hides, watching the jingle dress and fancy shawl dancers—until she sees her boy. After he finishes his performance, she leaps out, surprising him. DeShaw (Bois Forte Ojibwe and Eagle Clan) uses repetition to captures a cat’s uniquely self-possessed perspective; feline lovers will smile with recognition as Loaf assures them that sometimes her boy “thinks it’s time for sleep, but I know it is really time for play.” Audibert, who’s of Wolastoqiyik and French heritage, directs readers’ attention to dancers in the powwow scenes; in her heavily stylized, thick-lined illustrations, the performers stand out with pops of color and swirls of movement. Delicate floral Ojibwe details are incorporated throughout.
Both a purr-fect pet story and a vibrant celebration of cultural identity. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 28, 2024
ISBN: 9780593461853
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
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Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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