One of the best of its genre; attractive and informative, and a must for the growing Chinese New Year shelf.
PoPo helps her granddaughter learn Chinese New Year traditions in this intergenerational celebration of family and culture.
When PoPo arrives from China, preparations for Chinese New Year, a holiday that’s like “Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day all bundled together,” begin. Everything, from what one cooks and wears to how one cleans and decorates, is important to this age-old custom. As PoPo explains the symbolism behind each gesture, her Chinese-American granddaughter reacts with an honesty and effort that will captivate readers. The child’s candid responses, both humorous and endearing, make the holiday’s rituals accessible—whether she’s sweeping her baby brother out with the bad luck (before bringing him back in and lovingly rubbing his “big Buddha belly”), greedily eating seconds for a long life, or acting like a cash register, yelling “Cha Ching!” when red envelopes with money are being distributed. Benoit’s pencil-and-watercolor illustrations are extremely appealing. They exude warmth—both in the way she draws her characters and with her palette selection and how she thoughtfully applies her colors. Everything has a softness to it, drawing readers in, until they too feel embraced by the girl who cuddles her baby brother and the grandmother who is passing her heritage on to her kin. With running commentary on common practices included on each spread and an art activity at the end, Loh-Hagen offers a comprehensive idea of what Chinese New Year is about, couched within an authentic Chinese-American experience.
One of the best of its genre; attractive and informative, and a must for the growing Chinese New Year shelf. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-58536-978-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Sweet, reassuring fun—and a story to fully embrace.
A slug longs for a hug and finds it unexpectedly.
Doug the slug would really like a hug and plods on, seeking affection. But a caterpillar, bug, spider, and worm want no part of hugging a slug. They are just not feeling it (might they feel sluggish?), voicing their disdain in no uncertain terms with expressions like, “Grimy, slippy!” and “Squelchy, slimy!” What’s a slug to do? Undeterred, Doug keeps trying. He meets Gail, a snail with crimson lipstick and hip, red glasses; she happens to be as grimy and squelchy as he is, so he figures she is the hugger of his dreams. The two embark upon a madcap romantic courtship. Alas, Gail also draws the (slimy) line at hugging Doug. Finally, mournful Doug meets the best hugger and the true love of his life, proving there’s someone for everyone. This charmer will have readers rooting for Doug (and perhaps even wanting to hug him). Expressed in simple, jaunty verses that read and scan smoothly, the brief tale revolves around words that mainly rhyme with Doug and slug. Given that the story stretches vocabulary so well with regard to rhyming words, children can be challenged after a read-aloud session to offer up words that rhyme with slug and snail. The colorful and humorous illustrations are lively and cheerful; googly-eyed Doug is, like the other characters, entertaining and expressive. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Sweet, reassuring fun—and a story to fully embrace. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Dec. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-66590-046-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
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