Though the believe-in-yourself theme has been told in many ways, Liam holds his own with his quiet determination. Who can...
Another entry in the well-populated genre of animals that experience an existential crisis features a pig who wants to be the Easter Bunny.
Liam the piglet practices hopping and delivering eggs. He tries to like salad. And he copes with his siblings, who tease him, and his parents, who offer lots of advice about what a perfect piglet son he is, without any need for change. His grandparents, however, are more supportive of his unusual ambition, and they provide him with an Easter Bunny suit. (They order it from the Internet, as they are modern grandparents who don’t do homemade costumes.) The costume isn’t perfect, but it gives Liam the confidence to believe in his transformation, and others then accept his new role as well. The understated conclusion could even be interpreted to mean that Liam becomes the Easter Bunny, but each reader can decide what Liam’s role really means. Simple cartoon-style illustrations with thick black outlines are set off against bright backgrounds with lots of pink accents playing up the porcine premise.
Though the believe-in-yourself theme has been told in many ways, Liam holds his own with his quiet determination. Who can resist a piglet who introduces himself with “Hello, my name is Liam and I’ll be your Easter Bunny”? (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-312-64988-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Feb. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2012
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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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