A sweet Halloween tale.
A young trick-or-treater watches the moon follow her family to her grandmother’s Halloween party in this slice-of-life picture book.
Red-haired, brown-skinned Sam—dressed as part of the night sky, with stars and planets on her top and skirt and two buns that look like ringed planets—is excited about Grandma’s Halloween party. She’s also thrilled to see the full moon on Halloween. As her father drives over hills, Sam realizes the moon is following the family: “It’s keeping up with us. Look how big and bright it is now, Daddy!” At the party, Sam tells the other trick-or-treaters about her sighting, and all the children watch for the moon to follow them. At the end of the night, Sam tells the moon she’s too sleepy to play, and she drifts off to dreamland. Foley and Hargiss don’t attempt any explanation for why the moon appears to be following the family, merely using Sam’s observations as a framework for the enjoyable narrative. The vocabulary feels authentic to the experience of a preschooler or early elementary student, and emergent readers will find only a few potentially unfamiliar words (gleefully, flickers). Chamness’ illustrations, black-and-white sketches on the left page of each spread and digitally painted illustrations on the right, capture the Halloween spirit. Strangely, some images feature repeated characters that seem copied and pasted from earlier pages, including trick-or-treaters from Sam’s neighborhood who seem unlikely to have traveled to Grandma’s house. An owl inspires a seek-and-find game on each page.
A sweet Halloween tale.Pub Date: April 28, 2022
ISBN: 9781685373849
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Co.
Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers.
The bestselling series (How to Catch an Elf, 2016, etc.) about capturing mythical creatures continues with a story about various ways to catch the Easter Bunny as it makes its annual deliveries.
The bunny narrates its own story in rhyming text, beginning with an introduction at its office in a manufacturing facility that creates Easter eggs and candy. The rabbit then abruptly takes off on its delivery route with a tiny basket of eggs strapped to its back, immediately encountering a trap with carrots and a box propped up with a stick. The narrative focuses on how the Easter Bunny avoids increasingly complex traps set up to catch him with no explanation as to who has set the traps or why. These traps include an underground tunnel, a fluorescent dance floor with a hidden pit of carrots, a robot bunny, pirates on an island, and a cannon that shoots candy fish, as well as some sort of locked, hazardous site with radiation danger. Readers of previous books in the series will understand the premise, but others will be confused by the rabbit’s frenetic escapades. Cartoon-style illustrations have a 1960s vibe, with a slightly scary, bow-tied bunny with chartreuse eyes and a glowing palette of neon shades that shout for attention.
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3817-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
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A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren.
In talk-show host Fallon and illustrator Ordóñez’s latest picture-book collaboration, an elderly pooch waxes rhapsodic about a life well lived.
Observing Papa sitting in his chair watching TV all day, a young pup says, “I’m starting to think…you don’t do ANYTHING.” So Papa proceeds to list his accomplishments, both big and small, mundane and profound. Some are just a result of being older and physically bigger (being tall enough to reach a high shelf and strong enough to open jars); others include winning a race and performing in a band when he was younger. Eventually, the pup realizes that while Papa may have slowed down in his old age, he’s led a full life. The most satisfying thing about Papa’s life now? Watching his grandchild take center stage: “I can say lots of thoughts / but I choose to be quiet. / I’d rather you discover things and then try it.” Fallon’s straightforward text is sweetly upbeat, though it occasionally lacks flow, forcing incongruous situations together to fit the rhyme scheme (“I cook and I mow, / and I once flew a plane. // I play newspaper puzzles because it’s good for my brain”). Featuring uncluttered, colorful backgrounds, Ordóñez’s child-friendly digital art at times takes on sepia tones, evoking the sense of looking back at old photos or memories. Though the creators tread familiar ground, the love between Papa and his little one is palpable.
A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 13, 2025
ISBN: 9781250393975
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
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BOOK REVIEW
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