bookshelf

LET IT GLOW

Name: LET IT GLOW
Author: Owen Gildersleeve
ISBN: 978-1-78603-030-6

A WINTER'S WALK

by Owen Gildersleeve ; illustrated by Owen Gildersleeve ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 5, 2017

A pretty, if also pretty bland, commemoration.

bookshelf

A young boy’s way is lit by LED streetlights and stars as he walks home through snowy scenes on Christmas Eve.

The five white lights, which don’t “twinkle” as advertised but are very bright, are revealed one at a time through small die-cut holes as the lad carries a wrapped gift past pastel shops (this is a fairly commercialized version of the holiday) and houses, a fair, carolers, a pond where “skaters form a whirling swirl / of pink-cheeked boys and giggling girls,” and so home to hang one more shining star on his tree. The text accompanying this action implies that he takes the star out of the box he’s been carrying, but the box remains wrapped in the illustration, and his stiff-armed pose will have many readers wondering exactly what he’s doing. The boy and most of the figures in Gildersleeve’s neatly composed cut-paper collages are white, but the carolers include three with diverse shades of brown skin, and among the skaters is a biracial couple holding a child’s hands. A tiny switch turns the lights on and off, and the batteries are replaceable. Aside from the tree, silhouetted steeples in the background are the only hint that the holiday has a religious significance too.

A pretty, if also pretty bland, commemoration. (Novelty. 5-7)

Pub Date: Dec. 5, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-78603-030-6

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Wide Eyed Editions

Review Posted Online: Oct. 9, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S RELIGIOUS FICTION

bookshelf

HERE IS BIG BUNNY

by Steve Henry ; illustrated by Steve Henry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 15, 2016

Big fun for new readers who are ready to turn their Where’s Waldo skills to finding text.

bookshelf

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Big Bunny!

Controlled, repetitive text invites children to read short sentences directing them to find “a foot…a hand…a tail,” and so on. These named body parts belong to a figure that isn’t wholly visible until the book’s end, provoking readers to search them out in the detailed images. Their stark whiteness makes them stand out on the pages, which depict a busy, vibrant setting reminiscent of those in Richard Scarry books and are likewise populated by anthropomorphic animals going about their days. Shifting perspective and scale make it clear that the creature is not just another one of these animals, and many readers will use the title and cover image to infer that they belong to the eponymous Big Bunny. The reveal at the conclusion is that Big Bunny is not a giant but a large helium balloon of the sort seen in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. While this clever conceit is carried out with accessible text, there is a little quibble: the saturation and intentional busyness of the illustrations leaves little rest for new readers’ eyes. The sentences and vocabulary are simple, but finding them on the page is the challenge here.

Big fun for new readers who are ready to turn their Where’s Waldo skills to finding text. (Early reader. 5-7)

Pub Date: Feb. 15, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-8234-3458-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Holiday House

Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

- BOOK REVIEW
FRIENDS ARE FUN
by Steve Henry ; illustrated by Steve Henry

- BOOK REVIEW
SNOW IS FUN
by Steve Henry ; illustrated by Steve Henry

- BOOK REVIEW
HIDE!
by Steve Henry ; illustrated by Steve Henry

bookshelf

PINKALICIOUS AND THE HOLIDAY SWEATER

by Victoria Kann ; illustrated by Victoria Kann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2022

A pinktypical bit of problem-solving with a holiday theme.

bookshelf

Pinkalicious turns a “Secret Snowman” gift from fashion disaster to fab in this easy reader outing.

Joining a recent spate of holiday celebrations that never actually mention a specific holiday, the episode begins when Pinkalicious pulls classmate Molly’s name from the bowl at school and decides to knit her a “pinkamazing” sweater. Unfortunately, the project is beyond Pinkalicious’ knitting powers, and the finished result is a sad mess. What to do? Enter Dad, on his way to an “ugly holiday sweater party” at work…and the next day Molly is delightedly modeling a sweater so encrusted with garland, pompoms, candy, and small ornaments that the ragged original is transformed. In no time Pinkalicious is teaching the entire class, including Ms. Penny, the teacher, how to knit and decorate holiday scarves and other small projects because: “ ’Tis the season to make everything sparklerrific!” In similarly oblique visual nods to certain December festivities, the sedate, finely detailed illustrations feature a gaudy evergreen on Dad’s sweater and a brown-skinned classmate knitting, and then rocking, a red, green, and black scarf. Pinkalicious presents as White (as do Ms. Penny, Mom, Dad, and brother Peter), Molly presents as Black, and the class is racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A pinktypical bit of problem-solving with a holiday theme. (Early reader. 5-7)