An enjoyable, delightfully illustrated tale of inventiveness and teamwork.
In this picture book, a snowman and his human friend pursue a creative summertime project.
Dan, a White child, explains that his pal Paul, a large snowman, is a “happy-go-lucky guy” who “always knows how to get by.” Yet Paul suffers during the summer. He experiences unwanted attention at the pool and the beach, and the heat makes him melt. Paul laments: “I don’t fit in!” But Dan has an idea that “will take people by surprise.” The friends build and set up an ice cream cart at the pool. Paul sits in the cart under an awning while assisting Dan, who makes ice cream cones for a long line of customers. Paul appreciates Dan’s thoughtful (and cool) solution: “Now I can see / That Summer can be fun for me!” The story has excellent kid appeal, presenting endearing characters and a cheerful summer setting. Utilizing playful, engaging rhymes (“I just don’t care for all that sun, / It tends to spoil all my fun”), Lapid deftly depicts the importance of friendship and collaboration, especially under uniquely challenging circumstances. Pasek’s charming illustrations feature lovely watercolor spreads portraying the passing seasons, as when Paul and diverse kids trick-or-treat on Halloween. Summery scenes include vivid details like multicolored skies and waters. The images show a sprightly brown dog who appears throughout the story and a scene where Paul reads a newspaper with the headline “Global Warming…Hotter Than Average Summer Ahead!”
An enjoyable, delightfully illustrated tale of inventiveness and teamwork.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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BOOK REVIEW
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
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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
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BOOK REVIEW
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