Offers some amusing moments, but mostly a pale retread of the first installment.
Flat Cat is back for more feline fun—this time at school.
Flat Cat wasn’t smooshed by a rolling pin or squeezed by a giant pile of library books. He was just born flat. He likes his unusual appearance; he can slip through the blinds in the ice cream shop for a quick cone or float around town on the breeze. When he spies his neighbor Willow waiting for the school bus, he decides to tag along. School is full of people and strange smells. Kids fold Flat Cat into a paper airplane and use him as a bathroom pass. He enjoys this “terrific tomfoolery” until he’s accidentally swept up with the trash. Later, he masquerades as Willow’s missing homework, and they both get a gold star. At show and tell, Flat Cat decides to show what he can do. He jumps in the water fountain, stands under the hand dryer…and poof! He enjoys the attention until Willow squeezes him flat. “What a gold star day.” While Oswald’s purplish illustrations are rife with giggle-worthy sight gags, the narrative feels less like a story and more like a series of unconnected events. Readers may have questions—for instance, how exactly does Flat Cat pass as a hall pass? Those who loved Flat Cat (2023) will be eager for more, but they’ll be more satisfied by the earlier book. Willow is tan-skinned; her school is diverse.
Offers some amusing moments, but mostly a pale retread of the first installment. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 17, 2025
ISBN: 9780593404607
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available.
A ghost learns to appreciate his differences.
The little ghost protagonist of this title is unusual. He’s a quilt, not a lightweight sheet like his parents and friends. He dislikes being different despite his mom’s reassurance that his ancestors also had unconventional appearances. Halloween makes the little ghost happy, though. He decides to watch trick-or-treaters by draping over a porch chair—but lands on a porch rail instead. A mom accompanying her daughter picks him up, wraps him around her chilly daughter, and brings him home with them! The family likes his looks and comforting warmth, and the little ghost immediately feels better about himself. As soon as he’s able to, he flies out through the chimney and muses happily that this adventure happened only due to his being a quilt. This odd but gently told story conveys the importance of self-respect and acceptance of one’s uniqueness. The delivery of this positive message has something of a heavy-handed feel and is rushed besides. It also isn’t entirely logical: The protagonist could have been a different type of covering; a blanket, for instance, might have enjoyed an identical experience. The soft, pleasing illustrations’ palette of tans, grays, white, black, some touches of color, and, occasionally, white text against black backgrounds suggest isolation, such as the ghost feels about himself. Most humans, including the trick-or-treating mom and daughter, have beige skin. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-16.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 66.2% of actual size.)
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7352-6447-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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