Gentle Halloween fun from two beloved friends.
The understated, concrete-thinking best friends enjoy Halloween.
Goose is a joy. When asked on Oct. 30 what he will be tomorrow, he replies, “Well, I think I will be myself, Duck. It’s important to always be yourself.” Duck is going to be a ghost, and Thistle, who pops up to share her excitement with the duo, won’t tell what she will be—it’s a secret. But they should “beware the swamp monster!” Even knowing Duck will dress as a ghost, Goose is still scared of his friend until the latter points out his signature feet. But both are still worried about that swamp monster (readers are in on it, as an earlier illustration shows Thistle getting ready down at the water, some green slime under her wing). Trick-or-treating amid the forest residents is fun until an owl-cum-daisy tells them a swamp monster’s been looking for them, and here it comes! The two, hiding in a bush, believe they are goners as they hear the feet getting closer. But then Goose, dressed as a brave superhero, points out that it’s two to one, and they leap out to frighten the monster away, downplaying the scariness of Thistle’s costume now that they know the truth. Goose and Duck are wonderfully childlike in their innocence and naiveté, echoed in Hills’ illustrations. While costumed, the characters are never scary, and readers will easily be able to identify each one.
Gentle Halloween fun from two beloved friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5247-0175-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
Cookie-cutter predictability.
After all the daring escapes in the How To Catch… series, will the kids be able to catch Santa?
Oddly, previous installments saw the children trying (and failing) to catch an elf and a reindeer, but both are easily captured in this story. Santa, however, is slippery. Tempted but not fooled by poinsettias, a good book (attached to a slingshot armed with a teddy bear projectile), and, of course, milk and cookies, Santa foils every plan. The hero in a red suit has a job to do. Presents must be placed, and lists must be checked. He has no time for traps and foolery (except if you’re the elf, who falls for every one of them). Luckily, Santa helps the little rascal escape each time. Little is new here—the kids resort to similar snares found in previous works: netting, lures, and technological wonders such as the Santa Catcher 5000. Although the rhythm falters quite a bit (“How did we get out you ask? / It looked like we were done for. / Santa’s magic is very real, / and I cannot reveal more”), fans of the series may not mind. Santa and Christmas just might be enough to overcome the flaws. Santa and the elf are light-skinned, one of the children is brown-skinned, and the other presents as Asian. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Cookie-cutter predictability. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781728274270
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
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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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