The opening double-page spread shows over a dozen vividly colorful anthropomorphic cartoon animals happily engaged in various activities against a low-detail background of a pale blue village. Bold black print on the verso declares: “Sunnyville was perfect. Friendly and fun. It twinkled with perfect loveliness!” Yellow speech bubbles from animals affirm the collective happiness with cheerful or kind comments. The text at the bottom of the recto warns, “But then, without thinking….” On the next spread, there is excellent contrast in the art: A field of aquamarine backgrounds a large rhinoceros—clad in a red-and-white shirt and blue overalls—who tosses a candy wrapper behind its bulky shoulder. Rhino’s assertion that “It’s only one” is the beginning of Sunnyville’s quick downward trend from lovely to most unpleasant. Other animals follow Rhino’s bad example until the village is trashed. After Giraffe has picked “only one” flower and Penguin blasts out “only one” song on a portable Victrola, Sunnyville has plummeted dangerously. Can Mouse turn things around with one small, kind action? Giraffe is male, Mouse female, others unassigned. Repetition, onomatopoeia, short phrases, and excellent art and design make this a great read-aloud for the very young. The story is followed by sweet (but probably not attention-holding) tips on being a good neighbor.
Who says morality tales can’t be fun? (author’s note, illustrator’s note) (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68010-227-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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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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A caregiving bear shares with its cub how love has defined their relationship from the first moment and through the years as the cub has grown.
With rhymes and a steady rhythm that are less singsong-y than similar books, Stansbie seems to have hit a sweet spot for this offering on the I-love-you-always shelf. Readers follow the adult and child as they share special moments together—a sunset, a splash in a pond, climbing a tree, a snuggle—and the adult tells the child that the love it feels has only grown. Stansbie also takes care not to put promises in the adult bear’s mouth that can’t be delivered, acknowledging that physical proximity is not always possible: “Wherever you are, / even when we’re apart… // I’ll love you forever / with all of my heart.” The large trim size helps the sweet illustrations shine; their emphasis is on the close relationship between parent and child. Shaped peekaboo windows offer glimpses of preceding and succeeding pages, images and text carefully placed to work whatever the context. While the die cuts on the interior pages will not hold up to rough handling, they do add whimsy and delight to the book as a whole: “And now that you’re bigger, / you make my heart sing. / My / beautiful / wonderful / magical / thing.” Those last three adjectives are positioned in leaf-shaped cutouts, the turn of the page revealing the roly-poly cub in a pile of leaves, three formed by the die-cuts. Opposite, three vignettes show the cub appreciating the “beautiful,” the “wonderful,” and the “magical.”
Sweet. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68412-910-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Silver Dolphin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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