A doggy celebration of bilingualism starring everybody’s favorite Westie. In this fifth series outing from Wells and Jeffers (McDuff’s New Friend, 1998, etc.), McDuff is intrigued by his new neighbor, Marie the Scottie, but Fred and Lucy, his owners, display a certain narrow-mindedness toward the new human arrivals: “They’re speaking in a foreign language. . . . They’re going to have to learn English.” But when McDuff fails to jump down off the de Gaulles’ couch on demand, Fred and Lucy enroll him in dog school. Celeste and Marie enroll too, and practice faithfully every day; Fred and Lucy are too busy to practice with McDuff. Soon Celeste has a bored McDuff running through the basic commands perfectly along with Marie—in French, so on the last day of class, McDuff humiliates Fred and Lucy by not responding to their English commands. Celeste puts him through his paces in French to win a red ribbon, and the two families celebrate with “a grand French picnic.” Wells injects a warm humor into this brief story (Marie barks in French: “Ouf!”) that, despite a real rise in the level of complexity over previous McDuff books, delivers its message directly and without preachiness. Jeffers’s illustrations infuse her canine subjects with enormous personality (a wistful McDuff peers through the fence as Marie earns yet another liver truffle), and her sunny retro world retains its charm from the earlier books. An illustrated glossary of French commands, including pronunciation guides, follows the story. McDuff’s fans are well served by this offering. Ouf! (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7868-0647-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
Sadly, the storytelling runs aground.
A little red sleigh has big Christmas dreams.
Although the detailed, full-color art doesn’t anthropomorphize the protagonist (which readers will likely identify as a sled and not a sleigh), a close third-person text affords the object thoughts and feelings while assigning feminine pronouns. “She longed to become Santa’s big red sleigh,” reads an early line establishing the sleigh’s motivation to leave her Christmas-shop home for the North Pole. Other toys discourage her, but she perseveres despite creeping self-doubt. A train and truck help the sleigh along, and when she wishes she were big, fast, and powerful like them, they offer encouragement and counsel patience. When a storm descends after the sleigh strikes out on her own, an unnamed girl playing in the snow brings her to a group of children who all take turns riding the sleigh down a hill. When the girl brings her home, the sleigh is crestfallen she didn’t reach the North Pole. A convoluted happily-ever-after ending shows a note from Santa that thanks the sleigh for giving children joy and invites her to the North Pole next year. “At last she understood what she was meant to do. She would build her life up spreading joy, one child at a time.” Will she leave the girl’s house to be gifted to other children? Will she stay and somehow also reach ever more children? Readers will be left wondering. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 31.8% of actual size.)
Sadly, the storytelling runs aground. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-72822-355-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
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