Irresistible fun with one rowdy raccoon.
Catsitting should be no problem for Granny, right?
When a White-presenting family leaves for a one-night camping trip, Granny assures them she won’t have any trouble watching Satsuki the cat. After all, there is an instruction sheet for caring for little Satsuki taped to the refrigerator: “Very sweet! Loves to be brushed. Picky eater. Please don’t let the cat out.” When the cat spies a raccoon through the window, it jumps off of the refrigerator in fright, knocking Granny’s glasses off of her face and under the fridge. Bereft of her spectacles, Granny can barely see a thing and mistakes the raccoon for an escaped Satsuki. Granny coaxes “Kitty” inside with some cat food; meanwhile, the real Satsuki slips outside. Kitty loves the bowl of kibble Granny offers as well as the cupcakes she makes but not so much the bath that follows. Granny tires herself out keeping Kitty under control, and when she goes to bed, the raccoon goes wild, wreaking havoc throughout the house. In the morning, glassesless Granny can’t see the mess, and when the family returns, she rushes off before they can apprehend the disaster, relieved to get away from the exhausting “cat.” Jordan-Glum’s tale of mistaken pet identity will elicit giggles. The text is spare, narrated using crisp sentences, while the acrylic, watercolor, and pencil spot art and full-bleed illustrations do the heavy lifting and inspire all the laughs. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Irresistible fun with one rowdy raccoon. (Picture book. 2-7)Pub Date: April 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-76804-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property.
Since a reformed Grinch is hardly any fun, this follow-up Grinches him up once more.
Those seeking more of the same, prepare to receive precisely that. Christmas is coming (again!), and the Grinch can hardly wait. He’s been patient all year, and now he can finally show the Whos down in Who-ville how much he’s changed. When the Grinch learns of a tree-decorating contest, he figures that if he wins, it’ll prove he truly has the Christmas spirit. He throws himself into the task, but when it comes time to judge the trees, the Grinch is horrified to discover that he’s received only the second-place trophy. Can Cindy-Lou Who find the words to save the day? Replicating many of the original beats and wordplay of the original, this tale feels like less a sequel and more like a vaguely rewritten variation. Meanwhile, Ruiz’s art seeks to bridge the gap between the animated Chuck Jones version of the Grinch and the one depicted in the original book. This thankless task results in a strange uncanny valley between Seuss and Jones but does allow the artist a chance to colorize everything and lend some racial diversity to the Who population (Cindy-Lou is light-skinned). (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9780593563168
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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