A fine read-aloud tale with lots of let’s-party energy.
In this Southwestern-themed picture book, all kinds of prickly guests gather for a daylong celebration.
Cacti are both hosts and guests in this tale. With few exceptions, each full-page spread includes text on the top portion (the book is held calendar-style) consisting of rhyming couplets plus an additional line always ending in “party”; the bottom part features the illustration. The opening, for example, reads: “In the desert when the days are hot, / the cacti always find a spot… / to have a party!” Below is depicted a dry desert landscape with mountains, bare sand, a few saguaro, a lizard, and a javelina. Party-ready cacti include saguaro, jumping cholla, ocotillo, a pencil cactus (who sketches simple images of the more detailed, complex illustrations), and more. Eating pies and singing songs are the main entertainment, and next year, they’ll do it again. Biefeldt (Greg’s First Flying Lesson, 2014) offers an amusing way to learn about the cactus varieties growing in the Southwest, helped out by the bouncy rhyme and meter. The cactus names are recapped on the last page. It would have been helpful to include here a list of the many desert animals depicted, some of which may be unfamiliar, like javelina and quail. Baker (Makieba’s First Pajama Party, 2016, etc.) deftly mixes realism and a cartoon style in her images; both animals and cacti are given anthropomorphic smiling faces, and the background varies from frame to frame.
A fine read-aloud tale with lots of let’s-party energy.Pub Date: Nov. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-5032-2777-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Playful, engaging, and full of opportunities for empathy—a raucous storytime hit.
Readers try to dislodge a monster from the pages of this emotive and interactive read-aloud.
“OH NO!” the story starts. “There’s a monster in your book!” The blue, round-headed monster with pink horns and a pink-tipped tail can be seen cheerfully munching on the opening page. “Let’s try to get him out,” declares the narrator. Readers are encouraged to shake, tilt, and spin the book around, while the monster careens around an empty background looking scared and lost. Viewers are exhorted to tickle the monster’s feet, blow on the page, and make a really loud noise. Finally, shockingly, it works: “Now he’s in your room!” But clearly a monster in your book is safer than a monster in your room, so he’s coaxed back into the illustrations and lulled to sleep, curled up under one page and cuddling a bit of another like a child with their blankie. The monster’s entirely cute appearance and clear emotional reactions to his treatment add to the interactive aspect, and some young readers might even resist the instructions to avoid hurting their new pal. Children will be brought along on the monster’s journey, going from excited, noisy, and wiggly to calm and steady (one can hope).
Playful, engaging, and full of opportunities for empathy—a raucous storytime hit. (Picture book. 2-7)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6456-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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