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BABUSHKA

Another variation on the gifts for the Christ Child theme is the focus of this delightful tale starring the Russian grandmother character of Babushka. The amusing and well-written story features a humorous Babushka who is the epitome of cleanliness. (She tells the passing wise men they must take off their boots before coming into her tidy house.) Babushka breaks away from her cleaning to carry three gifts to the Holy Family: a toy clown and a shawl for the baby and a bottle of ginger cordial to warm the grown-ups. Along her journey, she gives away each gift to someone in need, and almost turns away from the manger scene, but Mary warmly welcomes her into the stable anyway. There Babushka sees that the others have brought along all of her gifts and they are already in use. Mary reassuringly says, “Everything you gave with love, you gave to my son, also.” Tempted to clean the cobwebs in the stable, Babushka forgets those plans in order to rock the baby to sleep as hovering angels sing of peace. Enchanting acrylic paintings employ a stylized, folk-art style using flattened, distorted perspectives, jewel-bright tones, and characters that look like carved Russian dolls. This original gem of a story creates its own satisfying glow with polished tones in both words and art. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002

ISBN: 1-84148-353-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Barefoot Books

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2002

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DR. SEUSS'S HOW THE GRINCH LOST CHRISTMAS!

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

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LOVE FROM THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR

Safe to creep on by.

Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.

In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.

Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap

Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021

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