A ghost story you’ll love to share!
A bibliophile has a strange encounter.
For Hubert Cumberbun, a tiny brown mouse, “a good story was everything. He practically lived at the branch library,” in this case a far-reaching tree (and a great visual pun). When the library closes early due to a blizzard, Hubert decides to take a shortcut through the Hollow, a spooky section of the woods. (Readers can see just how spooky thanks to Hubert’s hand-drawn map on the dedication page.) As Hubert is pondering this difficult choice, the scent of mothballs brings help in the form of a stranger, a brown-furred female rodent wrapped in shades of cherry pink and purple. The stranger asks if Hubert is going through the Hollow and silently guides him past trees that resemble large insects and over hills that look like bears. When they reach the edge of town, the stranger asks if Hubert can continue alone. When he consents, she vanishes—leaving not even a footprint behind. Hubert returns home with a new story to share with his parents and many siblings. The story is Hillenbrand at his best—a slow-building ghost story cleverly disguised as a winter book, menace defused masterfully under layers of snow. Hillenbrand’s snowy landscapes are sumptuous, at times cozy, at times ominous. The surprise of the stranger will shock many first-time readers, making for a memorable tale that will enchant little ones and storytellers alike. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A ghost story you’ll love to share! (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3681-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader!
Fun with friends makes for a great day.
Norbit, a salmon-colored worm with a pink kerchief, joyfully greets the day and everyone he encounters. “Hello, friends! It’s time for fun with the sun! Let’s play!” He and his menagerie of forest pals—including the sun, who grows limbs and descends from the sky—exuberantly engage in various forms of physical activity such as jumping, going down a slide, spinning around, and watching the clouds go by. Young readers will readily relate, as these are games that most children are familiar with. As day turns to night, Norbit says farewell to Sun and welcomes Moon with an invitation to continue the fun. Watkins has created a vivid world of movement and merriment. Her illustrations feature bright bursts of color that match the energy of the text, with most sentences ending in an exclamation point. The author/illustrator incorporates many elements that make for an ideal early-reading experience (despite the use of a contraction or two): art free from clutter, text consisting of words with only one or two syllables, and repetition and recurring bits, such as a continued game of hide-and-seek with Sun. Inspired by never-before-seen sketches from the Dr. Seuss Collection archives at the University of California San Diego, this is the first title for Seuss Studios, a new imprint for original stories from “emerging authors and illustrators” who “honor Seuss’s hallmark spirit of creativity and imagination.”
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader! (author's note) (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780593646212
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Seuss Studios
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor
Having surveyed worms, spiders, flies, and head lice, Gravel continues her Disgusting Critters series with a quick hop through toad fact and fancy.
The facts are briefly presented in a hand-lettered–style typeface frequently interrupted by visually emphatic interjections (“TOXIN,” “PREY,” “EWWW!”). These are, as usual, paired to simply drawn cartoons with comments and punch lines in dialogue balloons. After casting glances at the common South American ancestor of frogs and toads, and at such exotic species as the Emei mustache toad (“Hey ladies!”), Gravel focuses on the common toad, Bufo bufo. Using feminine pronouns throughout, she describes diet and egg-laying, defense mechanisms, “warts,” development from tadpole to adult, and of course how toads shed and eat their skins. Noting that global warming and habitat destruction have rendered some species endangered or extinct, she closes with a plea and, harking back to those South American origins, an image of an outsized toad, arm in arm with a dark-skinned lad (in a track suit), waving goodbye: “Hasta la vista!”
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor . (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77049-667-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
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