Unoriginal but fun; readers will happily follow along.
A balloon leads a bunny to a happy surprise.
Little Bunny pouts. It’s his birthday, and apparently everyone forgot. Seeing a red balloon drifting by, he decides to catch it and return it to its owner; it continually eludes him. A caterpillar offers help with the welcoming invitation, “Hop, hop on and hold on tight.” Little Bunny does, and an arduous trek ensues that fails to reach the quarry. Subsequently, Lady Bird (a female bird, not a ladybug), Giraffe, and Turtle show up at opportune moments, extending assistance and repeating Caterpillar’s phrase. Each ride brings Little Bunny closer to the balloon—but not close enough. After disembarking from Turtle, he arrives at his house and sees hundreds of balloons. Guess who’s having a surprise birthday-party celebration? Children will enjoy this sweet, lightweight story whose whimsical, fuzzy-edged illustrations stand out. Little Bunny is winsome with his blue outfit, spoon-handle–shaped ears, and anthropomorphic features. Caterpillar resembles a floppy-eared, many-segmented dog; wide-eyed and stereotypically eyelashed Lady Bird wears high-heeled red shoes; Giraffe has an accordionlike neck and toothy grin; and, bearing an upholstered shell, Turtle sports a boat-shaped sailor hat and sunglasses. All are expressive; backgrounds are vivid and palpably lush. Type is frequently and playfully incorporated into the main text in various colors and fonts.
Unoriginal but fun; readers will happily follow along. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 29, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4788-6864-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Reycraft Books
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Cookie-cutter predictability.
After all the daring escapes in the How To Catch… series, will the kids be able to catch Santa?
Oddly, previous installments saw the children trying (and failing) to catch an elf and a reindeer, but both are easily captured in this story. Santa, however, is slippery. Tempted but not fooled by poinsettias, a good book (attached to a slingshot armed with a teddy bear projectile), and, of course, milk and cookies, Santa foils every plan. The hero in a red suit has a job to do. Presents must be placed, and lists must be checked. He has no time for traps and foolery (except if you’re the elf, who falls for every one of them). Luckily, Santa helps the little rascal escape each time. Little is new here—the kids resort to similar snares found in previous works: netting, lures, and technological wonders such as the Santa Catcher 5000. Although the rhythm falters quite a bit (“How did we get out you ask? / It looked like we were done for. / Santa’s magic is very real, / and I cannot reveal more”), fans of the series may not mind. Santa and Christmas just might be enough to overcome the flaws. Santa and the elf are light-skinned, one of the children is brown-skinned, and the other presents as Asian. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Cookie-cutter predictability. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781728274270
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A forgettable effort that fails to capture any of the magical charm of Santa’s story. (Picture book. 3-6)
Wallace and Elkerton continue their series about catching elusive mythical creatures (How to Catch a Leprechaun, 2016, etc.) with this Christmas story about an elf who must avoid traps constructed by children before Santa’s annual visit.
The unnamed elf narrator is the sole helper traveling with Santa on his delivery rounds on Christmas Eve, with each house featuring a different type of trap for elves. The spunky elf avoids a mechanical “elf snatcher,” hidden in a plate of cookies, as well as simple traps made of tinsel, double-sided tape, and a cardboard box concealing a mean-looking cat. Another trap looks like a bomb hidden in a box of candy, and a complicated trap in a maze has an evil cowboy clown with a branding iron, leading to the elf’s cry, “Hey, you zapped my tushy!” The bomb trap and the branding iron seem to push the envelope of child-made inventions. The final trap is located in a family grocery store that’s booby-trapped with a “Dinner Cannon” shooting out food, including a final pizza that the elf and Santa share. The singsong, rhyming text has a forced cheeriness, full of golly-jolly-holly Christmas spirit and too many exclamation marks, as well as rhyming word pairs that miss the mark. (No, little elf-boy, “smarter” and “harder” do not rhyme.) Bold, busy illustrations in a cartoon style have a cheeky appeal with a focus on the freckle-faced white elf with auburn curls and a costume with a retro vibe. (Santa is also white.)
A forgettable effort that fails to capture any of the magical charm of Santa’s story. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4631-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
