An appealing and magical celebration of the Festival of Lights.
A child describes a series of gifts given by family and friends for Hanukkah.
The first is from young Hannah’s parents: a dragon named Nerry. Hannah details the presents received on the next nights of Hanukkah: a rainbow that “[spills] down the stairs,” a treasure chest filled with gold coins, a merry-go-round, a time machine that takes Hannah back to the ancient days of the Maccabees, a pair of “rocket boots,” and three boisterous unicorns. On the eighth and final night, it’s Hannah’s turn to give gifts; the child is preparing a “tasty treat.” Readers also discover that Hannah has been describing the presents very inventively. Nerry the dragon’s actually a stuffed animal; the rainbow’s a multicolored drawing; the treasure chest is an assortment of chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil. Hannah’s gift to others? A large batch of latkes. Hannah shares them with family and friends at a festive holiday dinner, “which makes this last night, / the eighth night, / the most magical night… // of Hanukkah.” Kids will enjoy this simple, inviting reminder that the holiday is about warmth and togetherness. The dynamic, colorful illustrations are full of imaginative imagery and present familiar holiday symbols, including menorahs (Nerry lights the candles by breathing fire in one scene), stars of David, dreidels, and jelly doughnuts. Hannah’s family is pale-skinned; the dinner guests are racially and ethnically diverse.
An appealing and magical celebration of the Festival of Lights. (more information about Hanukkah) (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9781338897524
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
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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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