by Viviane Schwarz & illustrated by Viviane Schwarz ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2008
Timothy Smallbeast wants desperately to be strong. Every evening before bed he follows a routine to make himself superhero strong: fortified cookies and milk, exercises and strong-thought meditation. All that is hard on his favorite pajamas. Mom suggests new ones, but new ones wouldn’t be favorite ones. She mends his old pajamas and suddenly Timothy is superstrong. He puts his powers to good use with the help of his sock monkey, Monkey. They save an elephant lady, sailors, a princess and several others. Just before bedtime, Timothy helps a giant bear find the forest to hibernate. The bear accidentally falls asleep on Monkey and tears Timothy’s pajamas. His super strength gone, Timothy doesn’t know how to save Monkey. Good thing he has made plenty of new friends. Half of the team behind the surreal Adventures of a Nose (2002) has created an absolute winner. The comic-inspired thick-line illustrations are a perfect marriage of the sense of humor of Lauren Child’s Charlie and Lola and Kevin Henkes’s Lilly for toddler boys (and girls). (Picture book. 2-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-545-03329-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Levine/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2008
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More by Sherri Duskey Rinker
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by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 31, 2023
An upbeat Easter outing with a beloved character.
Pookie celebrates Easter with a play date and holiday activities.
Pookie’s friend Bean, a gray puppy, comes over for Easter fun that includes lots of bouncing around and egg decorating. After Bean goes home, Pookie gets excited about the Easter Bunny’s arrival and goes to sleep dreaming of a large chocolate egg. Like the other Pookie books before it, this one is told in rhyme from the perspective of a loving grown-up addressing the little pig, which keeps the pace moving and makes for a great read-aloud. Bean and Pookie are realistically—and endearingly—childlike, from Pookie’s pronunciation of yellow as “lellow!” to the joyful mess they make while decorating eggs. There are plenty of sweet and festive touches, such as the bunny ears that Bean and Pookie (and Pookie’s teddy) wear and the daffodils painted on the end of Pookie’s bed. The illustrations include large, full-page images as well as smaller vignettes against solid backgrounds. One page shows Pookie and parent looking out the window at the moon, anticipating Easter’s spoils. For fans of Boynton and little Pookie, this Easter tale is exactly as expected: a touch of playfulness, a relatable story, and comfort in the familiar. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An upbeat Easter outing with a beloved character. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-66592-838-0
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Boynton Bookworks
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
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by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton
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by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton
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by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton
by James Dean ; illustrated by James Dean ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 18, 2018
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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More by Kimberly Dean
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by Kimberly Dean ; illustrated by James Dean
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by James Dean & Kimberly Dean ; illustrated by James Dean
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by Joan Holub ; illustrated by James Dean
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