Reach for this when you want to be surrounded by smiles.
An ode to guffaws and giggles.
From sunup to sundown, a tot enumerates the many ways that laughter rolls into our lives. It can start as a tiny smile elicited by loving family members, it might grow as the bus driver gives you a silly high-five, and it might just turn into a loud belly laugh if you hear a great joke. And no one knows more about chuckling than Uncle Ian, a pale-skinned, bearded man, apparently a stand-in for the author, who appears at the book’s opening and close and declares, “Life is better when we laugh together!” Moore’s pleasantly cartoonish illustrations depict the book’s narrator, a tan-skinned, dark-haired youngster with green glasses and an exuberant grin, who encounters others ready to share a giggle before heading home. Meanwhile, Aurora’s text extols the joy of laughter in its many forms: “It’s amazing how a laugh can spread just walking down the street. / So share a laugh or funny thought with the people that you meet.” One could argue that making the audience chuckle rather than simply discussing laughter would reinforce the message better. But while this tale might not be the most effective way to give readers the giggles, the bright colors and cheery expressions of this diverse, close-knit community do convey joy. There’s nary a frown in sight.
Reach for this when you want to be surrounded by smiles. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 17, 2026
ISBN: 9781486731213
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flowerpot Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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