An understated ode to an iconic Japanese cultural celebration, mindfulness, and the restorative power of the seasons.
“Hustle, bustle; hurry, dash.”
Day after day, five strangers rush to catch the train, their eyes fixed straight ahead. They ignore each other, their surroundings, and the winter chill, focusing only on their destinations, their cellphone screens, and the day’s impending challenges. Slowly, winter turns to spring. The bare Sakura trees lining the pavement begin to sprout leaves and flowers, and little by little, their branches fill with birds and the air with bird song. Yet the five busy travelers don’t stop to take in the glorious spectacle. One morning, a young girl stops to pick up a fallen blossom and realizes something is different—preparations for the annual Sakura (cherry blossom) Festival have begun. After the festival decorations go up, usually preoccupied pedestrians slow down to marvel at the beauty of the cherry blossoms, take photos, and picnic under the blooming canopies. Eventually, it is nature and not human beings that puts an abrupt end to the festival, and though almost everyone returns to their frenetic routines, at least one character remains attuned to the rejuvenating power of the Sakura trees. The simple text and gentle visual imagery illuminate the magic to be found in the natural world and in small moments. The soft pastel artwork highlights nature’s subtle transformations, and Togo skillfully achieves an accumulation of significance by repeating the same scenes, with slight variations, across spreads.
An understated ode to an iconic Japanese cultural celebration, mindfulness, and the restorative power of the seasons. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-648-95331-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Berbay Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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