The Cinderella of fir trees meets her fairy godmother in this Christmas tale. In the forest, the big fir trees are all excited about Christmas, planning what each of them will wear to the big party. One will wear a dress of thousands of twinkling stars, while another will fashion one from a rainbow. In the shadows, the littlest fir tree listens intently and dreams about her own dress, but the others are too busy with their plans to even talk to her. As Christmas gets closer, a noisy truck arrives and the little fir is left standing alone, with no way to get to the party. But there is one other tree that got left behind, a scraggly one, bare but very kind. The old tree is a willing listener for the little one, and asks her about her dream—to wear a long dress of pure white like the moon. On Christmas morning, Mother Nature clothes her youngest tree in newly fallen snow and her older tree in the bright colors of the forest birds. Finally dressed for the party, the two share their own special celebration. Ichikawa’s (The First Bear in Africa, p. 498, etc.) trees’ dresses are awash in light, glowing with the gold of the sunset and illuminated by the stars of the night. The country-red borders framing the soft greens and blues of the watercolor illustrations will remind readers that this is a Christmas story, even as the author emphasizes the beauty found in nature and within each living thing. Unfortunately, while the reader will appreciate the work of Mother Nature, the stronger message seems to be that it is a tree’s dream to be cut down and decorated for Christmas. Better pair this one with Eve Bunting’s Night Tree (1991). (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-399-23746-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2001
A validating and breathtaking next chapter of a Mother Goose favorite.
Humpty Dumpty, classically portrayed as an egg, recounts what happened after he fell off the wall in Santat’s latest.
An avid ornithophile, Humpty had loved being atop a high wall to be close to the birds, but after his fall and reassembly by the king’s men, high places—even his lofted bed—become intolerable. As he puts it, “There were some parts that couldn’t be healed with bandages and glue.” Although fear bars Humpty from many of his passions, it is the birds he misses the most, and he painstakingly builds (after several papercut-punctuated attempts) a beautiful paper plane to fly among them. But when the plane lands on the very wall Humpty has so doggedly been avoiding, he faces the choice of continuing to follow his fear or to break free of it, which he does, going from cracked egg to powerful flight in a sequence of stunning spreads. Santat applies his considerable talent for intertwining visual and textual, whimsy and gravity to his consideration of trauma and the oft-overlooked importance of self-determined recovery. While this newest addition to Santat’s successes will inevitably (and deservedly) be lauded, younger readers may not notice the de-emphasis of an equally important part of recovery: that it is not compulsory—it is OK not to be OK.
A validating and breathtaking next chapter of a Mother Goose favorite. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62672-682-6
Page Count: 45
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A book that will make young dog-owners smile in recognition and confirm dogless readers' worst suspicions about the mayhem caused by pets, even winsome ones. Sam, who bears passing resemblance to an affable golden retriever, is praised for fetching the family newspaper, and goes on to fetch every other newspaper on the block. In the next story, only the children love Sam's swimming; he is yelled at by lifeguards and fishermen alike when he splashes through every watering hole he can find. Finally, there is woe to the entire family when Sam is bored and lonely for one long night. Boland has an essential message, captured in both both story and illustrations of this Easy-to-Read: Kids and dogs belong together, especially when it's a fun-loving canine like Sam. An appealing tale. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8037-1530-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996
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