While some readers will want a more substantial plot, others will find Moti and his friends charming and even inspiring....
Lots of people commit acts of mischief when no one is looking. Moti the mouse secretly commits good deeds.
Moti lives under the kitchen sink in the home of a white, Jewish family, but he sometimes sneaks out to perform a “mitzvah.” The term is a traditional Hebrew word for “commandment,” but it is often loosely construed as a synonym for “an act of kindness,” and here it even takes on the connotation of “a fun children’s game.” Moti finds lost toys and gives them back to their owners. He decorates placemats to help celebrate Shabbat. The book turns each mitzvah into a puzzle for readers. When Moti tosses “scraps and crumbs” to hungry animals, the text asks, “What mitzvah is Moti doing…?” and “How many birds can you find?” Some readers will be frustrated that this is more of a puzzle book than a story. Others will be pleased by the lack of conflict. In this book, mice and cats get along and give one another gifts—mostly cheese. The loose, sketchy pictures of the characters by Knopp-Kilpert are endearing. As collaged in on her painterly, textured backgrounds, they almost look like stickers that children could collect.
While some readers will want a more substantial plot, others will find Moti and his friends charming and even inspiring. They might even get up in the dark of night to perform good deeds. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5124-2649-6
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
In the crowded field of dinosaur-themed children’s books, this one does not shine.
Do you want to celebrate your birthday with dinosaurs?
“Dinosaurs are BIG and strong. / They’re clumsy and they’re FARTY,” we’re told. “So do you really want them coming / to your birthday party?” A birthday banner drapes across the gutter, while full-bleed art depicts a diverse group of partygoers surrounded by dinos and looking perturbed (one child is holding their nose). The party appears to be thrown by a pair of adults for their child (all are brown-skinned). Spread after spread features overly busy art and more verse about why dinosaurs make poor party guests. A dinosaur at a pool party would jump in and displace all the water. Brontosaurus would love playing hide-and-seek—but likely wouldn’t be very good at it. Dinosaurs would gobble up all the food and, in their haste, accidentally trample all the birthday gifts. But, the narrator points out, dinosaurs are well intentioned, and soon we see examples of prehistoric pals working to make the celebration a smashing success—a group of kids use a dinosaur belly as a trampoline, and a velociraptor joins in for a fun game of tag. Though some dino fans may enjoy this one, it doesn’t rise to the top. The art is garish, and the verse often scans awkwardly. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
In the crowded field of dinosaur-themed children’s books, this one does not shine. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 20, 2023
ISBN: 9781400242054
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Skip this well-meaning but poorly executed celebration.
Children point out the things they love about their fathers.
“Daddy is always kind. He gives us support and shelter when things go wrong.” A child with a skinned knee (and downed ice cream cone) gets a bandage and loving pat from Daddy (no shelter is visible, but the child’s concerned sibling sweetly extends their own cone). Daddy’s a storyteller, a magician, supportive, loyal, silly, patient, and he knows everything. A die-cut hole pierces most pages, positioned so that the increasingly smaller holes to come can be seen through it; what it represents in each scene varies, and it does so with also-variable success. The bland, nonrhyming, inconsistent text does little to attract or keep attention, though the die cuts might (until they fall victim to curious fingers). The text also confusingly mixes first-person singular and plural, sometimes on the same page: “Daddy is like a gardener. He lovingly cares for us and watches us grow. I’m his pride and joy!” Even as the text mixes number the illustrations mix metaphors. This particular gardener daddy is pictured shampooing a child during bathtime. Más’ cartoon illustrations are sweet if murkily interpretive, affection clearly conveyed. Troublingly, though, each father and his child(ren) seem to share the same racial presentation and hair color (sometimes even hairstyle!), shutting out many different family constellations. Más does, however, portray several disabilities: children and adults wearing glasses, a child with a cochlear implant, and another using a wheelchair.
Skip this well-meaning but poorly executed celebration. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 24, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-12305-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Rodale Kids
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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