Proving size does not matter, this itty-bitty witch casts a bewitching spell.
Big dreams come in itty-bitty packages.
Betty is excited for her “first day as a first-grade witch.” Black-haired with a light brown complexion and small in stature, Betty is teased by classmates Abby and Sam (both white) for still using a “kinder-broom,” and they nickname her “Itty Bitty.” “My name is Betty,” she protests. When the class learns about the annual broom-riding race, or Halloween Dash, for the whole first grade, Betty decides she must win, thinking the name-calling will cease if she does. “SWOOSH! WHOOSH! / UH-OH!” Despite testing such flying strategies as a running start and nose-dives during practice, Betty fails, feeling “itty-bitty inside.” Undeterred, Betty maps out her race course and strategizes for the big day. Shaskan utilizes onomatopoeia and smartly placed rhymes to narrate Betty’s emotional journey as she battles her own self-doubts. Yan brings as much action and pop to the tale with her warm-toned digital renderings of Betty’s diverse classmates and teacher. All characters are portrayed with round heads and cartoonish, large eyes, and streaks of glittering bright colors trail behind their brooms. It is when Betty finally realizes that her perceived shortcomings are actually an advantage that she wins the acceptance of her peers—and, more importantly, herself. Caregivers and teachers will be pleased with the multiple extensions the story offers, all wrapped up in a Halloween theme.
Proving size does not matter, this itty-bitty witch casts a bewitching spell. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5420-4123-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Two Lions
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
As ephemeral as a valentine.
Daywalt and Jeffers’ wandering crayons explore love.
Each double-page spread offers readers a vision of one of the anthropomorphic crayons on the left along with the statement “Love is [color].” The word love is represented by a small heart in the appropriate color. Opposite, childlike crayon drawings explain how that color represents love. So, readers learn, “love is green. / Because love is helpful.” The accompanying crayon drawing depicts two alligators, one holding a recycling bin and the other tossing a plastic cup into it, offering readers two ways of understanding green. Some statements are thought-provoking: “Love is white. / Because sometimes love is hard to see,” reaches beyond the immediate image of a cat’s yellow eyes, pink nose, and black mouth and whiskers, its white face and body indistinguishable from the paper it’s drawn on, to prompt real questions. “Love is brown. / Because sometimes love stinks,” on the other hand, depicted by a brown bear standing next to a brown, squiggly turd, may provoke giggles but is fundamentally a cheap laugh. Some of the color assignments have a distinctly arbitrary feel: Why is purple associated with the imagination and pink with silliness? Fans of The Day the Crayons Quit (2013) hoping for more clever, metaliterary fun will be disappointed by this rather syrupy read.
As ephemeral as a valentine. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Dec. 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-9268-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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