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PS
A deadpan narrator outlines the story of the Dracula family's Saturday trip to the zoo as the illustrations divulge what really happens. The two little Draculas, in their black capes and yellow shoes, almost match the penguins, and no one notices when the littlest Dracula escapes the stroller and trades places with one of the birds. The text hilariously drones on through the day's itinerary as expressive cartoon art creates mischief throughout. Mercifully, baby Dracula and the penguin manage to reconnect with their original families before the day ends, but not before a souvenir photograph commemorates the situation. A funny (and often startlingly relatable) outing.
Reviewer: Julie Roach
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2021
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K-3
As, one by one, his fellows (even the gourd!) at a big-city neighborhood market are sold, a stemless pumpkin worries that nobody will appreciate his many other jack-o'-lantern-worthy qualities. Warm, gently funny text and friendly mixed-media illustrations leave no question that everything will work out for the insecure but lovable pumpkin. Orange and green accents pop amid the muted setting on creamy paper.
(4)
K-3
Animals disappear one by one, except for a hungry lion. They reappear at a surprise party, but the tables turn--again (and again)--until ultimately one unexpected survivor remains. All the carnage (both real and assumed) takes place off-page, potentially furthering confusion caused by the story's many twists. Illustrations in brush marker, gouache, graphite, colored pencil, and charcoal playfully contrast with the macabre undertones.