by Richard J. Gausselin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 16, 2012
An often fun Christmas story that will likely entertain young listeners and their grandparents.
A holiday-themed picture book set at the North Pole.
Gausselin’s debut takes readers on a journey to Santa’s workshop, where some unusually warm winter weather leads the elves to take a break from making toys to play in the snow. They don’t heed Mrs. Claus’ warning to wear their coats, though, and when the weather suddenly turns cold and snowy, they must trek through a blizzard to get back to the workshop. The elves then catch colds, and Santa has no choice but to send them all off to bed. Santa tries to take over the toy-making himself, but he finds that he can’t keep up. He calls on his trusted friend and adviser, Joe, an older elf who’s a retired toy-shop supervisor. Joe suggests that Santa enlist the help of grandparents, who will know how to make toys “with hands and heart,” as is the workshop’s practice. Santa puts out a call, and grandparents from across the United States make the journey to the North Pole. Together, the team knuckles down to make sure that there will be enough toys for everyone on Christmas morning. Bright, colorful illustrations accompany the text to show Santa, the elves, and the grandparents who come to the rescue. Although the grandparents’ arrival at the North Pole is documented in the text, readers will have to supply their own explanations for how they all managed to complete such an arduous journey. This is a wordy picture book, and its length suits the story; however, as a read-aloud, it may be best for an elementary-aged audience. The illustrations are somewhat flat at times, although their many details help bring the story to life. The characters, elves and grandparents alike, also lack diversity. Overall, this is a familiar story of a nearly ruined Christmas, but its grandma-and-grandpa spin is refreshing.
An often fun Christmas story that will likely entertain young listeners and their grandparents.Pub Date: Aug. 16, 2012
ISBN: 978-1477247716
Page Count: 24
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Adam Wallace ; illustrated by Andy Elkerton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2017
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
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by Jeff Kinney ; illustrated by Jeff Kinney ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 5, 2019
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
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