A refreshingly uncommercial Yuletide tale.
A family-oriented celebration of hard work, capped with a special meal.
Early on Christmas Day, Sam and Grandpa walk to the barn through a snowy yard. Before they can celebrate, they’ve got chores to do: milking the cow, bathing their big fluffy dog, and feeding the mare, chicks, pigs, calves, sheep, and goats. And, of course, they must check on the mare one more time. When Mama asks for help gathering eggs, Sam, petting a kitten and watching the cat lap up milk, readily agrees. Mama, Grandma, and Sam have plenty to do inside: chopping and peeling potatoes, sweeping up, and setting the table. Once all five are gathered around their laden table, Daddy says grace. Later that night, everyone piles into a horse-drawn wagon for a brief ride that ends at the barn, where a nativity scene awaits: The mare has birthed a foal. Brief rhyming couplets carry readers smoothly through a very busy day. Cartoon-style art in subdued colors depicts a soft, evenly lit, and orderly farm. Despite the snow, clothing choices such as wide-brimmed hats suggest a Southwest setting. Notably, Sam’s family has a Christmas tree, but no gifts are seen or mentioned; warm family connection and Sam’s willing participation are what truly matter on this day. This tale offers a positive, Santa-free take on the holiday that might be different from many readers’ expectations, potentially expanding horizons. Characters are tan-skinned and dark-haired.
A refreshingly uncommercial Yuletide tale. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2025
ISBN: 9781534113565
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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BOOK REVIEW
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