Friendship between a little boy and an old lady is a lovely thing, but the story lacks cohesion and purpose.
A neighborhood busybody “keeps an eye out for trouble.”
Maggie McGillicuddy, an old white lady, sits on her porch knitting when a black family moves next door with their young son, Charlie. As he runs out the front door, his mother warns him to be careful. The boy quickly finds trouble in the form of a tiger stalking across the lawn. It is, of course, a cat, and Maggie and her knitting needles take care of the threat. The next day a tree root morphs into a snake, menacing the pizza-delivery woman, but Maggie again dispatches it. An imaginary eagle with outstretched talons is no match for Maggie either. Then, the next day, real trouble comes as Charlie chases his ball almost into the street but is saved when Maggie yells a warning. After that, Charlie sees a herd of elephants and a big-jawed crocodile but bravely faces them. Hughes addresses readers on more than one occasion, making sure that the threat is seen. “(You see it there, don’t you? Charlie did, too.)” Exactly what readers are supposed to understand is unclear. Not to fear imaginary threats? To embrace paranoia? That Maggie and Charlie are sharing hallucinations? Kerrigan’s bland, washed-out illustrations offer little clarity.
Friendship between a little boy and an old lady is a lovely thing, but the story lacks cohesion and purpose. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77138-291-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 27, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series.
Another creature is on the loose.
The long-running series continues its successful formula with this Hallmark card of a book, which features bright illustrations and catchy rhymes. This time, the mythical creature the racially diverse children set out to catch is an absent mom who does it all (lists of descriptors include the words banker, caregiver, nurse, doctor, driver, chef, housekeeper, teacher, entertainer, playmate, laundry service, problem solver, handywoman, cleaner, and alarm clock) but doesn’t seem to have a job outside the home and is inexplicably a dinosaur. As the children prepare gifts and a meal for her, the text becomes an ode to the skills the Mamasaurus possesses (“Day or night she’s always there. / She meets every wish and need”) and values she instills (“Sometimes life can mean hard work,” “kindness matters,” and “what counts is doing your best”). This well-intentioned selection veers into cliche generously sprinkled with saccharine but manages to redeem itself with its appreciation for mothers and all that they may do. Endpapers include a “to” and “from” page framed in a heart, as well as a page where young gift givers or recipients can draw a picture of their Mamasaurus.
A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781728274300
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
A visually striking, engaging picture book that sends the message that everyone counts.
A playful counting book also acts as a celebration of family and human diversity.
Shannon’s text is delivered in spare, rhythmic, lilting verse that begins with one and counts up to 10 as it presents different groupings of things and people in individual families, always emphasizing the unitary nature of each combination. “One is six. One line of laundry. One butterfly’s legs. One family.” Gomez’s richly colored pictures clarify and expand on all that the text lists: For “six,” a picture showing six members of a multigenerational family of color includes a line of laundry with six items hanging from it outside of their windows, as well as the painting of a six-legged butterfly that a child in the family is creating. While text never directs the art to depict diverse individuals and family constellations, Gomez does just this in her illustrations. Interracial families are included, as are depictions of men with their arms around each other, and a Sikh man wearing a turban. This inclusive spirit supports the text’s culminating assertion that “One is one and everyone. One earth. One world. One family.”
A visually striking, engaging picture book that sends the message that everyone counts. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 26, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-374-30003-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
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