A delightfully droll exploration of friendship.
Can a bilious beast adjust his attitude?
Bulky, long-snouted, squinch-eyed Boar has always been a grump. Who knows why? His fellow woodland creatures look out for him (after all, he’s “a neighbor and one of their own”), but only Hedgehog attempts to reach out to Boar. Hedgehog gently suggests that Boar leave his cold dark cave for somewhere sunnier. Boar retorts that Hedgehog should mind his own business, but Hedgehog’s words linger. After a sleepless night in his leaky cave, Boar decides to set up his den right by the Great River—a spot that just so happens to be not too far from Hedgehog’s home. Hedgehog warns Boar about the risk of flooding: “Maybe move your den back a bit.” “Maybe stop giving me advice. We’re not friends, you know,” grumbles Boar, but he relocates once more. When Hedgehog is in trouble, it’s Boar’s turn to help—and he rises to the occasion. Boar enjoys being needed, and despite himself, he finds himself developing a true friendship with Hedgehog. Playful and witty art perfectly suits this marvelously understated story. Cleverly composed, firmly outlined, deeply colored illustrations convey both Boar’s cranky intransigence and Hedgehog’s politely expressed good sense. Hats, scarves, or trousers give the animals just a bit of a human touch.
A delightfully droll exploration of friendship. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: June 10, 2025
ISBN: 9781536228717
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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