A sweet trilogy conclusion.
In this third volume, Uni finally gets to visit their little-girl pal where she lives and meet her friends and family.
Sliding in on a double rainbow (the one, of course, that connects Here and There), Uni is excited to visit the Real World for the first time. But when the unnamed little girl introduces Uni to her parents, they don’t see Uni at all. The little tot’s entire body droops in disappointment. The duo then races to the park to find the little girl’s friends. Surely they will want to see a unicorn! But they don’t see Uni either. This time, it is Uni’s turn to sadly droop. Suddenly, light hits Uni’s horn, and a rainbow appears. A glint of believing grows in a little boy, and he can see Uni! The thrum of magic and sparkle is there in both the text and art, but the ending feels slapdash and arbitrary: “The power of believing spread across the Real World, making it a bright and joyful place where everyone…was welcome.” Regardless, the full-circle moment is satisfying, completing the arc begun by author Rosenthal’s late mother, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, in Uni the Unicorn (2014) and Uni the Unicorn and the Dream Come True (2017). Uni and the little girl have now seen each other’s homes and made both better through their friendship. The little girl and her family present White; her friends are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A sweet trilogy conclusion. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Nov. 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-30680-2
Page Count: 42
Publisher: Random House Studio
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
The familiar singsong repetitiveness is catchy in all settings, holiday or otherwise.
A hoppy, snappy Easter version of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.
Three young tots, with varied skin tones and baskets ready in their hands, eagerly scamper on a spring day to find some eggs. But of course, they meet hindrances along the way. “Ooh, look … // Chickens! / Flapping, pecking chickens.” Thus starts the rolling refrain: “Can’t go over them. / Can’t go under them. / Can’t go around them. // Got to go through them!” The waddling chickens don’t pose much of an obstacle, but they do “Cluck-cluck!” loudly as they scatter in the sun. The three youngsters then must face “fluffy, hungry bunnies” (adorable long-eared puffballs with carrot fronds in their mouths) and “happy, hopping frogs” as they balance on stones to cross a pond. All of this leads to a garden bursting with colorful flowers (“Rustle-swish! / Rustle-swish!”) and finally…10 eggs in pastel patterns. Each egg has a number on it to encourage readers to count along and strengthen their numeracy skills. Rozelaar’s plump and rounded world, with roly-poly trees, flowers, and hills, wraps the tale in coziness.
The familiar singsong repetitiveness is catchy in all settings, holiday or otherwise. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9798887771304
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
The book is available in just about every format--but this is the perfect one.
It's hard to believe that a pop-up wasn't the creators' original intention, so seamlessly do moveable parts dovetail into this modern classic's storyline.
In contrast to the tale's 1998 pop -up version, the figures here move on every page, and with an unusually graceful naturalism to boot. From pulling down Big Nutbrown Hare's ears on the opening spread to make sure he's listening to drowsily turning his head to accept a final good-night kiss in a multi-leveled pull-down tableau at the close, all of Little Nutbrown Hare's hops, stretches and small gestures serve the poetically spare text—as do Big Nutbrown's wider, higher responses to his charge's challenges. As readers turn a flap to read Big Nutbrown's "But I love you this much," his arms extend to demonstrate. The emotional connection between the two hares is clearer than ever in Jeram's peaceful, restrained outdoor scenes, which are slightly larger than those in the trade edition, and the closing scene is made even more intimate by hiding the closing line ("I love you right up to the moon—and back") until an inconspicuous flap is opened up.
The book is available in just about every format--but this is the perfect one. (Pop-up picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5378-1
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 21, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2011
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