This sequel to Palatini and Cole's Moosetache (1998) continues the mildly amusing antics of Moose, the ruminant whose billowing mustache would make a walrus proud. Set mostly to rhyme, and with plenty of alliterative wordplay and flashy typeface, Moose goes about preparing for Christmas. He writes his cards. He shops and wraps. He prepares a feast and strings the swags and hangs the mistletoe: “Yessiree. Getting ready for Christmas was an absolute snap. And so simple. So easy. And if he did say so himself, Moose thought, totally, utterly, completely . . . perfectly perfect.” Of course it’s not. Moose has forgotten, as his mooslings unhappily point out, the tree. Where would Santa park the presents, they would like to know? So off Moose shuffles into the cold city night, where the blustery streets sport one sold-out Christmas tree stand after another. Moose returns empty-handed, but inspiration strikes: He orders his children to fetch the “tried-and-true family glop” and gob it on his mustache in such a way as to fashion him into a Christmas tree. Some tinsel, a few bulbs and lights, and voila: Moose Spruce. Palatini’s story is a sweet bauble; it could even be hung on Moose. But neither it nor its flights of alliteration have any staying power. They dim and flicker and it is only Cole’s images, especially the last—of a coal-black room lit only by a string of colored lights, the whites of two pair of eyes, and a ho, ho, ho—that are abiding. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7868-0567-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2000
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
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Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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