A sweet, simple story of inclusion for kids who celebrate Christmas.
A snowman’s friends help him enjoy Christmas indoors in this picture book.
This latest entry in Lapid’s and Pasek’s (Halloween with Snowman Paul, 2017, etc.) snowman series is set during Christmas, which might seem like a natural fit. But the carrot-nosed Snowman Paul doesn’t see it that way. For him, Christmas is a time when everyone congregates indoors, enjoying warmth, food, and company—everyone but Paul. “If that’s called friendship, I don’t know, / Perhaps I’d rather be plain snow...!” he concludes. Hearing this, a boy—Paul’s friend and the book’s narrator—rallies his family, including the dog and cat, to come up with a solution. By drawing the fridge to the Christmas table and sitting inside, Paul can feast and join in playing games, even by the fireside. Afterward, Paul gets a special present from Santa. As with other outings in this series, Lapid writes generally effective rhyming couplets that scan well. Although the book takes for granted an audience that embraces Christmas, the atmosphere is warm, accepting, and friendly. (The family is white; the narrator has one black friend.) Rather than asking the snowman to adjust or just be left out, the family adapts to him, taking into account Paul’s special needs—a good and subtle lesson for kids. Pasek emphasizes the tale’s kindness with soft watercolor washes, and makes Paul a real character with an expressive face; his twig hair, for example, matches his mood, lying flat when he’s down.
A sweet, simple story of inclusion for kids who celebrate Christmas.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-9993361-0-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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