Satisfyingly and appropriately, community spirit defeats a bully.
A Jewish holiday celebration takes on contemporary relevance.
On Purim Jews read the Megillah, the story of Esther, which recounts how she saved the Jews of Persia from the evil Haman. Each time Haman’s name is mentioned, graggers, or noisemakers, are rotated by hand so that their noise drowns out his name. In this tale, a shopkeeper has arranged a display of the graggers, and a boy is almost ready to purchase one for his sister, also named Esther. He just needs more money. Then another boy enters the shop and rudely demands the very gragger the protagonist (whom readers eventually learn is named Ben) has selected. The shopkeeper sets it aside for the first lad, though. As Ben and Esther, both dressed in costumes for a Purim parade, leave the store they are accosted by the bully. Soon, Esther, joined by the shopkeeper and passers-by, enters into the spirit of the holiday, and they all spin their noisemakers, creating so much “racket” and “commotion” that the bully runs off. The shopkeeper uses the occasion to deliver a message: namely “we must never be afraid to take a stand against cruelty.” It is certainly a timely lesson, albeit delivered purposefully and at somewhat greater length than a typical picture book. Colorful illustrations are set in an indeterminate time and place with a largely Jewish, light-skinned cast. Four pages of backmatter offer further information on Purim, its observance, and graggers as well as instructions on how to make homemade noisemakers.
Satisfyingly and appropriately, community spirit defeats a bully. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-937786-75-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Wisdom Tales
Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A touching, beautifully illustrated story of greatest interest to those in the New York City area.
A pair of cardinals is separated and then reunited when their tree home is moved to New York City to serve as the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.
The male cardinal, Red, and his female partner, Lulu, enjoy their home in a huge evergreen tree located in the front yard of a small house in a pleasant neighborhood. When the tree is cut down and hauled away on a truck, Lulu is still inside the tree. Red follows the truck into the city but loses sight of it and gets lost. The birds are reunited when Red finds the tree transformed with colored lights and serving as the Christmas tree in a complex of city buildings. When the tree is removed after Christmas, the birds find a new home in a nearby park. Each following Christmas, the pair visit the new tree erected in the same location. Attractive illustrations effectively handle some difficult challenges of dimension and perspective and create a glowing, magical atmosphere for the snowy Christmas trees. The original owners of the tree are a multiracial family with two children; the father is African-American and the mother is white. The family is in the background in the early pages, reappearing again skating on the rink at Rockefeller Center with their tree in the background.
A touching, beautifully illustrated story of greatest interest to those in the New York City area. (author’s note) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7733-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
