Arrr! Bring out the piratical storytimes! This catchy read-aloud demands to be sung at the top of your lungs.
A reimagining of a classic song that reflects the recent viral popularity of all things sea shanty.
What shall we do with a drunken sailor? More like “What do you do with a grumpy kraken?” One by one, an array of “scruffy,” “sickly,” “tearful,” “hungry” creatures present themselves to a ship full of kids. As they appear, their ailments are tended to by the young sailors. Unfortunately, each time a monster finds respite, it accidentally gives the kids’ ship an awful battering, until inevitably time and tide take their toll. Now one of the sailors is grumpy, and it’s the sea critters’ turn to make things right. Standard cryptids like sea serpents and kraken rub shoulders with the less common Capricorn, Aspidochelone, and Hydra. Meanwhile, the perfectly scanned rhymes are complemented by delicious words like bilious, slewing, and peevish. Don’t know the tune? Sheet music is provided at the end alongside a section offering more info on each mythic sea creature, adroitly named “Now, Here Be Our Monsters.” Featuring dramatic angles and plenty of action, Brundage’s energetic art perfectly portrays a diverse cast of kids and colorful capering creatures. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Arrr! Bring out the piratical storytimes! This catchy read-aloud demands to be sung at the top of your lungs. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-53411-149-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
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
A tender book to help little ones make sense of the emotions around prayer.
Actor Metz and songwriter Collins join illustrator Fields in their second faith-related title for young children.
Instead of focusing on the language of prayer—what to say or how to say it—this book explores a topic central to the lives of the very young: their feelings around talking to God. Rhymes and near-rhymes in the AABB verses enumerate the simple challenges and triumphs experienced by a series of animals: “Sometimes I’m sad, not sure what to do. / There are days I feel teary, unhappy, or blue. / I fell off a log. I’m embarrassed and hurt. / My coat and paws are all covered in dirt.” An accompanying illustration depicts a sad wolf pup, a definite contrast to its siblings, who are delighting in their play. The highlight of the book is Fields’ animal characters. Whether happy, nervous, or sad, their expressive faces are easy to read, and their feelings will be familiar to young tots. The beaver’s frustration is palpable, and the tears in the scared raccoon’s eyes may just make readers’ own eyes well up. Some of the animals have a God stand-in to help them with their feelings—a friend or family member—but the final spread shows all the individual animals coming together in a couple of group hugs that express where children can find support (and sweetly defy predator–prey relationships).
A tender book to help little ones make sense of the emotions around prayer. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780593691366
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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