Slapstick fun for any season.
Sometimes the holidays get messy.
When a light-skinned leprechaun—complete with red beard and clover-adorned hat—appears at the end of a rainbow on a hill dotted with tulips, he’s all set to bury his gold…until the Easter Bunny hops over in a huff. The leprechaun is digging up all the tulips where the bunny was planning to hide his eggs. Their argument escalates, and readers will be reminded of Looney Tunes battles between Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck as each employs more and more outrageous traps and tricks to humiliate the other. The duo keep the fight up until a new visitor arrives; although St. Valentine’s Day has passed, a plump, light-skinned Cupid is ready to start planning for next year—allowing the two to join forces against a common enemy. The text is told in rhyming stanzas: “ ‘Gold!’ cried the bunny, / but when he bent over, / the leprechaun pushed him / facedown in the clover!” It’s not Shakespeare, but it moves the plot along. The digital illustrations are riotously funny, and the final image of the three spring holiday mascots scowling at one another, having reached an uneasy friendship, will have readers giggling all year long. Skilled storytellers will enjoy hamming up the action as the characters attempt to assert their dominance over their hillside home. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Slapstick fun for any season. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-316-37426-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Effectively captures the excitement surrounding Valentine’s Day.
A collection of poems follows a group of elementary school students as they prepare for and celebrate Valentine’s Day.
One student starts the day by carefully choosing clothing in pink, purple, or red, while a family kicks off the morning with a breakfast of red, heart-shaped pancakes. At school, children create valentines until party time finally arrives with lots of yummy treats. The students give valentines to their school friends, of course, but we also see one child making a “special delivery” to a pet, a stuffed animal, family members, and even the crossing guard. The poems also extend the Valentine’s celebration to the community park, where other couples—some older, one that appears to be same-sex—are struck by cupid’s “magical love arrows.” Note the child running away: “Blech!” Not everyone wants to “end up in love!!!” But the spread devoted to Valentine’s jokes will please readers more interested in humor than in romance and inspire children to create their own jokes. To make the celebration complete, the last pages of the book contain stickers and a double-sided “BEE MINE!” valentine that readers can, with adult help, cut out. Cheery and kid-friendly, the poems can be read independently or from cover to cover as a full story. The cartoonish illustrations include lots of hearts and emphasize the growing Valentine’s Day excitement, depicting a diverse classroom that includes students who use wheelchairs. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Effectively captures the excitement surrounding Valentine’s Day. (Picture-book poetry. 4-6)Pub Date: Dec. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-38717-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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