An uncomplicated look at finding the silver lining during a storm.
A rainy day stimulates a young girl’s imagination in this children’s book.
Charli, crippled by boredom, really wants to go outside to play with her friends. Unfortunately, the weather isn’t cooperating—it’s raining cats and dogs out there: “The wind howled and the leaves swirled like ballerinas in the air.” Her parents, buried in their own tasks, barely notice the rain, but Charli is praying for it to end. After she drags herself back to her bedroom to sulk, she notices a bit of color inside her toy box. It’s a feather, which is attached to a black-and-white striped hat, a gift from her grandmother. As Charli begins to dress herself in items from her toy box (including the hat, a pair of gardening gloves, her mother’s wedding shoes, and an old lace blouse), she has an idea to throw herself an indoor tea party. As she goes about setting up her afternoon tea, her parents silently watch the hullabaloo. Finally, Charli’s mother and father bring milk and cookies to join Charli in her adventure. Soon, all three forget about the rain. Johnson’s (Charli’s Fantastic Day at the Park, 2014) book features a very real childhood problem: what is there to do on a rainy day? Charli finds something to do fairly quickly—so quickly, in fact, that the story somewhat falls flat. She moves from being disillusioned to being delighted in just a few sentences. More deliberate pacing would have lengthened the tale and drawn readers in. The book, as reviewed, also lacks illustrations, and children’s literature, particularly of this length, needs drawings to engage readers and make it a book that the whole family (or, at least, kids of all ages) can enjoy. Still, the prose itself is fairly simple and will keep the attention of the youngest readers, and the littlest ones will definitely ask for the book at bedtime. This second book in the series sets the stage for many more Charli adventures to come.
An uncomplicated look at finding the silver lining during a storm.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Dog Ear Publisher
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Earnest and well meaning but not quite a touchdown.
In Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Hurts’ motivational picture book, a youngster rebounds from disappointment.
As Jalen heads off on his first day of school, he daydreams about joining the football team, but his friend Trey soon breaks the bad news. The garden club needed more space for vegetables, so the football field was used for planting. There will be no football this year. Jalen is despondent, but his teachers Mrs. Lee and Mr. Barry and bodega owner Mr. Muhammad offer guidance that spurs him and his friends into positive action. They work to flip a nearby empty lot into a football field, with Jalen echoing his mentors’ adages. Once the field is complete, Jalen feels a swell of pride in his and his friends’ work. While the idea of kids working together to effect change is a laudable one, the bland, wordy storytelling won’t inspire young people or hold their attention. Tired, cliched inspirational comments peppered throughout often slow down the narrative, and many adult readers will find the premise—a school dropping a high-interest sports program in favor of a community garden—wildly unrealistic. Though the illustrations are colorful, with a Disney Junior charm, strange stylistic choices, such as signs with odd combinations of scribbles instead of letters, give them an unpolished look. Like Hurts, Jalen is Black; his community is diverse.
Earnest and well meaning but not quite a touchdown. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 10, 2026
ISBN: 9798217040308
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
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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BOOK REVIEW
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