She may be a “bad bad BAD Kitty,” but she’s the star of an alphabet book that should be in every collection. This poor, black kitty only became bad when her family ran out of kitty-appropriate food. She was going to be forced to eat an alphabet of healthy foods, asparagus to zucchini. So she perpetrates an alphabet of badness, from “Ate my homework” to “Zeroing the zinnias.” Then her loving family returns from the grocery with an alphabet of great kitty food, anchovies to zebra ziti—some of it silly, but she’s excited enough to reform and perform an alphabet of gracious actions, from apologizing to a nipped grandma to lulling a baby into a “zzz”-ful sleep. Kitty gets a present too, her just deserts (a puppy to play with). Bruel’s little black star is perhaps the hammiest, most expressive feline ever captured in watercolors. The quarter-page illustrations for all the letters in all four alphabets are littered with little (and big) laughs. Even the alphabet-experienced will love this bad, bad kitty! (Picture book. 3-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2005
ISBN: 1-59643-069-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2005
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Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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An earnest graduation gift: sweet for lifelong fans, cheerfully encouraging for striving, future graduates.
Success comes at last for the bright-eyed Pigeon.
A clever, tongue-in-cheek ersatz colophon reveals that this graduate has been awarded a “Master of Ornery-thology, Bachelor of Arts of Persuasion with a Minor in Major Freak-outs (summa cum loudly).” Fans will be glad that the Pigeon’s tireless, abundant optimism is finally being ceremoniously recognized. On the cover, the Pigeon wears a mortarboard at a jaunty angle, commenting, “I have the hat!” Of course, dressing the part is essential. But also, “I did the work. I paid attention to the little details. I took some BIG steps.” The Pigeon encountered obstacles (not shown, but many memorable ones will come to mind for the Pigeon's followers). And the Pigeon is plagued by worries familiar to many students who are about to graduate: “WHAT WILL HAPPEN THEN?!? What will I do? Who will I be?” The Pigeon appears in every frame, in close-ups and in poses variously thoughtful, confident, or slightly distressed. Our hero’s simple big eyes and wings are, as ever, remarkably expressive. “Oop!” In one scene, while walking off the dais, diploma in wing, the Pigeon comes to what seems like the edge of a chasm. At last, our hero takes flight with other graduates. Willems' popular characters Gerald and Piggie are there to look on admiringly.
An earnest graduation gift: sweet for lifelong fans, cheerfully encouraging for striving, future graduates. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781454960430
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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