Heartwarming and festive.
A young girl wants to make the Korean Harvest Festival extra special for her grandmother.
On this day, families come together, remember their ancestors, and enjoy a feast—similar to Thanksgiving. This is the first year that Su-Jin’s Halmoni will be away from Korea, and Su-Jin confides in her pals Maddie and Keisha that she’s afraid her grandmother will miss her friends and family. So the girls ask Halmoni to teach them how to observe Chuseok. Together, they wrap small ceremonial gifts known as bojagi and cook traditional dishes such as japchae noodles and scallion pancakes. They invite their friends, and the celebration is a vibrant success, with everyone trying new foods and sharing family stories. The lively descriptions of the holiday convey a sense of warmth as Halmoni is welcomed into the community. The illustrations have a subtle sweetness that delights. Chuseok is a lunar holiday, and images of the moon abound; it all culminates in a luminous full moon. A traditional Korean quilt hanging on the wall contains vibrant geometrical patterns that are echoed throughout the book. Several pages are divided into panels focusing on key moments or objects (a bottle of sesame oil, hands rolling songpyeon, or rice cakes shaped like half-moons). Maddie is light-skinned, Keisha is brown-skinned, and their community is diverse.
Heartwarming and festive. (more information on Chuseok) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 12, 2025
ISBN: 9781636551616
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Red Comet Press
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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