This cheerful, easy-to-understand story offers a satisfying lesson for families who want to convey the Christian meaning of...
Little Bunny celebrates with his animal friends at a Christmas party celebrating the birth of Jesus.
When the young rabbit receives an invitation to a Christmas party, his mother explains that Christmas is Jesus’ birthday. Little Bunny dreams of the presents he likes to receive for his own birthday, such as toys and sweets, and wonders what present he can take to the party as a gift for Jesus. The bunny finds his friends decorating a tree outside and placing wrapped presents under it with tags listing qualities and goals such as kindness, faith, and peace. Little Bunny makes his own package with a tag specifying “Love,” and his mother explains more about the connections between Jesus, Christmas, and the concept of love as “the greatest gift anyone can give on Christmas.” The simple story is told in just a few words, introducing some basic concepts of Christianity in terms accessible to young children. Charming, soft-focus illustrations create a cheery personality for the little rabbit and wintry settings of snow-covered trees and darkening night skies. The final scene shows the group of animal friends gathered together at night, with a glowing star in the sky also serving as the star for the Christmas tree.
This cheerful, easy-to-understand story offers a satisfying lesson for families who want to convey the Christian meaning of the Christmas holiday. (Picture book/religion. 2-6)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-6809-9319-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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