Exquisite illustrations, impeccable design and a snowy, surprising conclusion add up to a memorable interpretation of the beloved Christmas poem. Puttapipat’s illustrations are silhouettes in black and white with highlights of deep red, green and shiny gold, and though the silhouette style is an old one, in the hands of this talented artist, the approach is refreshingly new. The large format using heavy paper includes a window on several pages, each offering a glimpse into the next spread, as well as a flap on the first spread that allows the family’s Victorian home to open up like a doll house. Children will enjoy finding the tiny details in this view of the house and then looking for them in succeeding spreads from other perspectives. The carefully chosen font, gold page borders and patterned endpapers are further indications of the volume’s thoughtful design, along with the cover in holly-berry red with Santa and the reindeer in flight. The final spread is a complete surprise: a spectacularly gorgeous, intricately designed pop-up scene of Santa’s sleigh and reindeer taking off from the rooftop with the snow-covered city buildings behind. (Picture book. 3-adult)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-7636-3469-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Another Seuss-chimera joins the ranks of the unforgettable Herlar and with the advent of the Grinch— a sort of Yule Ghoul who lives in a cave just north of who-ville. While all the Who's made ready on Christmas Eve the Grinch donned a Santa-Claus disguise. In gurgling verse at a galloping gait, we learn how the Grinch stole the "presents, the ribbons, the wrappings, the tags, the tinsel and trappings," from all the Who's. But the Grinch's heart (two sizes too small) melted just in time when he realized that the Who's enjoyed Christmas without any externals. Youngsters will be in transports over the goofy gaiety of Dr. Seuss's first book about a villain — easily the best Christmas-cad since Scrooge. Inimitable Seuss illustrations of the Grinch's dog Max disguised as a reindeer are in black and white with touches of red. Irrepressible and irresistible.
Pub Date: Oct. 12, 1957
ISBN: 0394800796
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Oct. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1957
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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