An amusing story that captures the intensity of the Christmas season from a little one’s perspective.
A young rhinoceros named Otto prepares for Christmas with his family, getting into mischief by trying to make everything extra “Christmassy.”
In this fifth adventure about obstreperous Otto, he is excited to participate in all the Christmas preparations at his house. He enjoys baking cookies, decorating the tree, and creating his own special Christmas sweater. At every turn, Otto takes things over the top, adding more frosting and sprinkles to his cookies, putting extra ornaments on the tree, and making a reindeer face with extra-long antlers to attach to his sweater. After Otto knocks over the tree, his mom stations him at the window on a big pillow to watch for snow. The pillow rips open, covering everything in the room with tiny, white pellets, “snow” in Otto’s opinion. During the cleanup process, Otto switches the tags on the Christmas packages, leading to humorous mix-ups on Christmas morning. The presents are sorted out, and the whole family goes out into the snow so Otto can use his new sled. The simple plot has just the right amount of excitement, minor conflict, and satisfying resolution to appeal to younger preschoolers who are beginning to listen to longer stories. Large-format illustrations help create appealing personalities for the rhinoceros family, charming in their detailed Christmas sweaters.
An amusing story that captures the intensity of the Christmas season from a little one’s perspective. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68010-067-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery.
A troop of cats traverse a spooky landscape as they make their way to a party hosted by ghosts.
Each double-page spread shows the felines’ encounters with the likes of an owl, jack-o’-lanterns or a bat. One or two of these creepy meetings may be too abstract for the youngest readers, as the cats hear eerie noises with no discernible source on the page. The text, which consists of one rhyming couplet per scene, mostly scans despite a couple of wobbles: “Five black cats get a bit of a scare / As the flip-flapping wings of a bat fill the air.” The sleek, slightly retro art, likely created using a computer, depicts the cats cavorting at night through a shadowy cityscape, the countryside and a haunted house; they may scare some toddlers and delight others. A brighter color palette would have given the project a friendlier, more universal appeal. Luckily, the well-lit, final party scene provides a playful conclusion.
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58925-611-8
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
All aboard for a spooktacularly sleepy ride!
The goodnight train is back for a not-so-scary fourth installment.
The nighttime locomotive travels through an autumnal landscape that’s bursting with Halloween tropes. As in the previous stories, bed-shaped cars are hooked up for a train ride; here, three diverse children are dressed in their Halloween finest as a skeleton, a princess, and a bee. Fans of the series will find the usual perks of a solid rhyme scheme, additional words and sounds peppering the illustrations, and pages of yawning creatures signaling that it’s time for bed. Those unfamiliar with the series will also find the book amusing, but readers who really love Halloween—or spooky things like bats, ghosts, and black cats—will enjoy it the most. As with the other installments in this series, educators and librarians will find this useful for seasonal book displays and storytimes but will probably keep it out year-round because it checks many of the boxes that signal a solid addition to any board-book library. Die-cut circles of various sizes are sprinkled across the double-page spreads, giving caregivers a chance to test young readers’ predictive skills while providing small hints at what’s to come. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
All aboard for a spooktacularly sleepy ride! (Board book. 2-5)Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-3586-2607-7
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
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