A lively holiday tale that may make youngsters wonder why Santa ever used reindeer in the first place.
An adorable team of enthusiastic huskies helps Santa Claus in this picture book from debut author Egar and illustrator Campeau (Mon guide nature, 2019, etc.).
Santa just doesn’t know what to do when the elves tell him the reindeer are sick. Rudolph pledges to pull the sleigh himself, but he has a fever, so Santa needs another plan. First, a “famous daredevil pilot,” a woman with windblown black hair, offers to transport Santa, but the plane won’t fit all the toys. Then local huskies Romeo and Sheba call for their friends to help. Several other boisterous huskies arrive to pull Santa’s sleigh, and one irrepressible pup, Frost, is determined to be the most helpful dog of all. The mission goes smoothly despite one small hiccup when Frost tries to catch a falling star, and Santa’s very grateful. The ending here is no surprise—Christmas is saved once again—but the dogs steal the show. Campeau’s action-packed, painterly color images show the pups in energetic states, whether they’re playing with polar bears or engaging in a game of tag. The few slightly challenging vocabulary words (“halted,” “harnesses”) are clear from context, and the simply structured sentences will help newly independent readers feel confident.
A lively holiday tale that may make youngsters wonder why Santa ever used reindeer in the first place.Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-73359-330-4
Page Count: -
Publisher: Whistle Oak
Review Posted Online: June 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
PROFILES
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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