Corderoy and Berger have concocted a splendid follow-up (Hubble, Bubble, Granny Trouble, 2012) full of gentle humor...
Granny sure knows how to cast a spell, but her granddaughter, who narrates, just wants to spend time getting ready for her upcoming birthday party without using the special “Helping Kit.”
Readers may think it would be cool to have a grandmother who is a witch, but Granny’s magic tricks frequently yield unexpected and somewhat disastrous results: A bad-hair-day fix leaves the granddaughter with a hot pink bouffant do, for instance. So Granny agrees to help bake a cake from scratch and sew together a new dress from some “found…strips of red.” Kids will snicker at the ramshackle results, but the granddaughter could not be happier with the less-than-perfect preparations since all has been “made with tons of love.” The guests arrive, and everyone has fun. But afterward, Granny and her granddaughter are left with a colossal mess. Granny comes to the rescue with a “Whizz! Pop!” that thoroughly cleans everything up just in time for one last birthday gift. The final spread dramatically differs from the dominant pastel pinks, blues and grays that have come before to show a fireworks “Happy Birthday” message brightly popping against the black night sky.
Corderoy and Berger have concocted a splendid follow-up (Hubble, Bubble, Granny Trouble, 2012) full of gentle humor spotlighting the special relationship between grandmothers and granddaughters. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6551-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
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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This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers.
The bestselling series (How to Catch an Elf, 2016, etc.) about capturing mythical creatures continues with a story about various ways to catch the Easter Bunny as it makes its annual deliveries.
The bunny narrates its own story in rhyming text, beginning with an introduction at its office in a manufacturing facility that creates Easter eggs and candy. The rabbit then abruptly takes off on its delivery route with a tiny basket of eggs strapped to its back, immediately encountering a trap with carrots and a box propped up with a stick. The narrative focuses on how the Easter Bunny avoids increasingly complex traps set up to catch him with no explanation as to who has set the traps or why. These traps include an underground tunnel, a fluorescent dance floor with a hidden pit of carrots, a robot bunny, pirates on an island, and a cannon that shoots candy fish, as well as some sort of locked, hazardous site with radiation danger. Readers of previous books in the series will understand the premise, but others will be confused by the rabbit’s frenetic escapades. Cartoon-style illustrations have a 1960s vibe, with a slightly scary, bow-tied bunny with chartreuse eyes and a glowing palette of neon shades that shout for attention.
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3817-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
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