Useful, perhaps, for conflict resolution, if not ground-breaking.
Neighbors Bear and Woodpecker exchange a few choice words.
“Bear needed a lot of sleep. Two hundred and forty-three and a half days to be precise. Anything less and he turned grizzly.” However, Bear is a light sleeper, so just to make sure he’s not disturbed, he hangs signs and makes a soundproof front door out of some local trees. He drifts off to sleep—but not for long. Woodpecker is aghast to find that some of the best houses he has created with his pecking are gone. The trail of debris leads to Bear’s door. Woodpecker pecks up a ruckus, and a cranky Bear calls him a “featherbutt.” The woodland gossips are a-twitter, and it gets back to Woodpecker. Woodpecker is initially angry but then begins to sniffle (while continuing to peck), which annoys Bear and leads to another angry exchange. Woodpecker calls Bear “fuzzybutt,” now hurting Bear’s feelings. After a mutual apology, the erstwhile enemies become friends, working together to make sure Bear gets his sleep and Woodpecker can create his houses some distance away. Batori’s slightly anthropomorphized illustrations of chunky forest creatures suit Newman’s tale of name-calling and reconciliation. Listeners likely won’t settle their own arguments so quickly, but they can try to follow Bear and Woodpecker’s example. And they will love the many iterations of butt. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 57.1% of actual size.)
Useful, perhaps, for conflict resolution, if not ground-breaking. (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: March 15, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5341-1073-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Extraordinary introductory terror, beautiful to the eye and sure to delight younger horror enthusiasts.
What terrors lurk within your mouth? Jasper Rabbit knows.
“You have stumbled your way into the unknown.” The young bunny introduced in Reynolds and Brown’s Caldecott Honor–winning picture book, Creepy Carrots (2012), takes up Rod Serling’s mantle, and the fit is perfect. Mimicking an episode of The Twilight Zone, the book follows Charlie Marmot, an average kid with a penchant for the strange and unusual. He’s pleased when his tonsils become infected; maybe once they’re out he can take them to school for show and tell! That’s when bizarre things start to happen: Noises in the night. Slimy trails on his bedroom floor. And when Charlie goes in for his surgery, he’s told that the tonsils have disappeared from his throat; clearly something sinister is afoot. Those not yet ready for Goosebumps levels of horror will find this a welcome starter pack. Reynolds has perfected the tension he employed in his Creepy Tales! series, and partner in crime Brown imbues each illustration with both humor and a delicate undercurrent of dark foreshadowing. While the fleshy pink tonsils—the sole spot of color in this black-and-white world—aren’t outrageously gross, there’s something distinctly disgusting about them. And though the book stars cute, furry woodland creatures, the spooky surprise ending is 100% otherworldly—a marvelous moment of twisted logic.
Extraordinary introductory terror, beautiful to the eye and sure to delight younger horror enthusiasts. (Early chapter book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781665961080
Page Count: 88
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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