A thank-you note from grandchildren to grandmothers.
Celebrating the mutual-admiration society of grandmothers and grandchildren.
This upbeat text has the tone of an expanded greeting card. It begins with a child writing a note to Grandma (“Do you know you’re the best?”) and then continues to show how grandmothers offer unconditional love and acceptance in myriad magical and practical ways. The text’s sentiments are clear even when the sentence structure is not: “You’re grab pots and pans, / let’s make a band, / cheer up and bake / a rainy Saturday cake….” In this illustration, a grandma frosts a cake while singing into a wooden-spoon microphone; one grandchild pretends to strum a broom while two younger kids bang pots and pans. The whole family has brown skin and puffy black hair. It’s not all boisterousness. “Take a walk so we can talk, / hold my hand and understand / that sometimes things don’t go as planned.” Here, a young child with black braids walks with a grandma (rather improbably) wearing both a hijab and a bindi; both have brown skin. Bright cartoon illustrations of racially diverse generations show grandmothers and grandchildren actively swinging through a jungle and challenging a dragon as well as quietly engaging in pep talks and enjoying a seaside visit complete with sand castle building. Blank pages invite readers to add their own thoughts and pictures about grandma.
A thank-you note from grandchildren to grandmothers. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2261-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2020
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
BOOK REVIEW
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BOOK REVIEW
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
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