Turkey loves to eat, and he loves his barnyard friends…but how many Thanksgiving dinners can one turkey eat?
“Pig, Horse, Goat and Sheep, Cow, and Mouse had each invited him to Thanksgiving dinner at their homes.” When Turkey thinks of all that good cooking, he’s sure he can handle five dinners. After stomach-stretching exercises, he heads to Pig’s for a yummy stew (worms included). He clears his plate and thinks it’s wonderful to feel a part of the family. After a nosh at Horse’s, Turkey has that same wonderful feeling playing race with the family. On to Goat and Sheep’s, Cow’s, and Mouse’s, where again he feels wonderfully at home (though his vest gets tighter and tighter). During the Mouse family parade, Turkey sees all his friends come out to watch; he’s so surprised and stuffed, Turkey topples over. He thinks it was worth it to spend time with all his friends…but next year, he decides he’ll just host them all at his house. Kenah’s holiday turkey tale of friendship and food will make animal lovers and vegetarians smile. Turkey, who looks both a little platypuslike and a little chickenesque in Talib’s textured cartoon illustrations, obviously enjoys all the company as much as he does stuffing his beak.
A nice respite from tales of Pilgrims and of turkeys hiding from farmers. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-76109-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Children point out the things they love about their fathers.
“Daddy is always kind. He gives us support and shelter when things go wrong.” A child with a skinned knee (and downed ice cream cone) gets a bandage and loving pat from Daddy (no shelter is visible, but the child’s concerned sibling sweetly extends their own cone). Daddy’s a storyteller, a magician, supportive, loyal, silly, patient, and he knows everything. A die-cut hole pierces most pages, positioned so that the increasingly smaller holes to come can be seen through it; what it represents in each scene varies, and it does so with also-variable success. The bland, nonrhyming, inconsistent text does little to attract or keep attention, though the die cuts might (until they fall victim to curious fingers). The text also confusingly mixes first-person singular and plural, sometimes on the same page: “Daddy is like a gardener. He lovingly cares for us and watches us grow. I’m his pride and joy!” Even as the text mixes number the illustrations mix metaphors. This particular gardener daddy is pictured shampooing a child during bathtime. Más’ cartoon illustrations are sweet if murkily interpretive, affection clearly conveyed. Troublingly, though, each father and his child(ren) seem to share the same racial presentation and hair color (sometimes even hairstyle!), shutting out many different family constellations. Más does, however, portray several disabilities: children and adults wearing glasses, a child with a cochlear implant, and another using a wheelchair.
Skip this well-meaning but poorly executed celebration. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 24, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-12305-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Rodale Kids
Review Posted Online: March 18, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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Dot, the smallest reindeer at the North Pole, is too little to fly with the reindeer team on Christmas Eve, but she helps Santa in a different, unexpected way.
Dot is distressed because she can’t jump and fly like the other, bigger reindeer. Her family members encourage her and help her practice her skills, and her mother tells her, “There’s always next year.” Dot’s elf friend, Oliver, encourages her and spends time playing with her, doing things that Dot can do well, such as building a snowman and chasing their friend Yeti (who looks like a fuzzy, white gumdrop). On Christmas Eve, Santa and the reindeer team take off with their overloaded sleigh. Only Dot notices one small present that’s fallen in the snow, and she successfully leaps into the departing sleigh with the gift. This climactic flying leap into the sleigh is not adequately illustrated, as Dot is shown just starting to leap and then already in the sleigh. A saccharine conclusion notes that being little can sometimes be great and that “having a friend by your side makes anything possible.” The story is pleasant but predictable, with an improbably easy solution to Dot’s problem. Illustrations in a muted palette are similarly pleasant but predictable, with a greeting-card flavor that lacks originality. The elf characters include boys, girls, and adults; all the elves and Santa and Mrs. Claus are white.
A forgettable tale. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-338-15738-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 21, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
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