The illustrations alone will keep readers occupied for hours.
Mayhem ensues when bunnies board the bus.
Don’t be fooled by the tranquil-seeming town in the opening scene; look closely and you’ll spy bunny ears. And on the title and copyright spread that follows, those bunnies sneakily take over the city bus behind the back of the regular driver, an elephant. The bunny behind the wheel seems to take the “Am I driving well?” sign on the rear of the bus as a personal challenge. (The answer is no, as many would-be bus riders and pedestrians can attest.) Repetitive phrasing in the rhyming verses adds to the frenzied atmosphere that quickly ensues, the author’s British origins evident in some of the word choices: “Pandas at the crossing! / Pandas at the crossing! / Their shopping jumping in the air, / spinning and a-tossing.” (This likely also accounts for the rhyming of “again” with “train.”) But Mantle’s busy and very funny illustrations will ease any potential confusion among American readers. Children can follow a pig letter carrier, a parent and child sheep going about town, a bear in a bow tie gathering gifts for and then dining with a sweetheart, a pair of masked red-squirrel bandits who are making their getaway after robbing a bank, and many other characters, not to mention the antics of those bunnies on the bus. The ending hints at a possible sequel as the bunnies disembark in favor of a train.
The illustrations alone will keep readers occupied for hours. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1116-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020
Familiarity breeds a birthday for the ages in this party worth attending.
Don’t let the Pigeon ruin his own special day!
Anyone who has ever encountered the title character in any of his books—whether his first, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus (2003), or one of its many sequels—will understand that the bird’s innate self-love drives his every interaction. Little wonder, then, that he’s thrilled about his own “bird-day.” He has the hat. He has his “FANCY PLUMAGE.” And, best of all, he will get to blow out a candle “on my bird-day hot dog!” As he revels in the knowledge that this day is all for him, comeuppance is lurking. Someone has already blown out the bird-day candle—and eaten half the hot dog. It turns out that the Pigeon’s frenemy, the Duckling, has the same bird-day—as do a slew of newly hatched chicks. The Pigeon’s obligatory eight-panel freakout ensues. “What am I—invisible? I just want to be seen,” he whimpers, and when he receives some much-needed reassurance, he settles down and willingly shares his special day. While the switch from unapologetic narcissism to mature acceptance happens in the record-breaking span of two pages, the book is as enchanting as the Pigeon’s earlier outings. Even as it walks in the footsteps of its predecessors, there’s no denying the fun to be had.
Familiarity breeds a birthday for the ages in this party worth attending. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9781454999621
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
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