Adults might find Peanut’s cheery, repetitive catchphrase annoying, but kids will likely eat this up.
Border continues his food-as-characters shtick with this Christmas tale about a family of peanuts celebrating the holiday together.
The unusual illustrations feature real peanuts, still in their shells, photographed in amusing scenes filled with small props and backgrounds of water, snow, or Christmas-cookie trees. The peanuts have wire arms and legs, character-differentiating hats, and wire-framed glasses that give the illusion of eyes. The main character, Peanut, who wears a propeller beanie, and his parents encounter difficulties on the way to Grandma’s house for Christmas dinner, such as a “traffic jelly,” instead of a traffic jam. They invite each peanut character who assists them to join the group and come along to Grandma’s for dinner, Peanut informing each one, “Don’t be sad! I’ll cheer you up! I’m the Merry Christmas Nut!” Each additional peanut has something special to offer, and with teamwork, the group solves further problems. The cumulative story has a traditional folk-tale sensibility with its repeated refrain, journey complicated by obstacles, assistance from strangers along the way, and rewards for those who help others in need. The funny conclusion shows Peanut and his family and friends enjoying their Christmas dinner with real (though tiny) food items, followed by an ice-hockey match on a Popsicle skating rink.
Adults might find Peanut’s cheery, repetitive catchphrase annoying, but kids will likely eat this up. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-17621-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
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
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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