Review by New York Times Review
A boy and his dog head to the moon, a crab bakes cakes, a cat foils a bakery break-in: These books send imaginations soaring. ONE IS A PIÑATA Written by Roseanne Greenfield Thong. Illustrated by John Parra. Thong and Parra have explored shapes ("Round Is a Tortilla") and colors ("Green Is a Chile Pepper") with adorable bilingual flair, and this take on the numbers one to 10 is just as appealing. Each object is named in Spanish, with surrounding text in English ("six flavored aguas to quench our thirst"), while Parra's folk-art illustrations give visual clues to scenes from Latino life. Each friendly page beckons - to find stuff to count, or just to imagine lying on the beach under one of the five palapas. 32 pp. Chronicle. $16.99. (Ages 3 to 5) THERE ARE NO BEARS IN THIS BAKERY Written and illustrated by Julia SarconeRoach. A protective tabby named Muffin, a shop called Little Bear Bakery, a nighttime intruder. Is it a giant mouse? Or... a baby bear, helping herself to the goodies? Muffin is on the case. Sarcone-Roach ("The Bear Ate Your Sandwich") draws her audience in with I'm-the-boss cat humor and expressive mixed-media art in shades of blue and orange, perfectly capturing moods ranging from a terrified kitty ("I was smooshed, like a muffin between the couch cushions") to a satisfying bear hug. This delightful caper calls out for multiple readings. 32 pp. Knopf. $17.99. (Ages 4 to 8) TEN RULES OF THE BIRTHDAY WISH Written by Beth Ferry. Illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. Admit it, that annual wish you make before blowing out the candles is a huge deal. This antic step-by-step guide at first plays it for laughs, pulling in dinosaurs, rhinos, penguins and many more creatures to sow amusing chaos. Dogs howl the birthday song off-key, and puffer fish are warned not to take a big breath. But the always vibrant Lichtenheld and Ferry turn sweetly serious for the moment we've been waiting for, with a gentle reminder: "Don't forget that wish ends in 'shhhhhh.' " 40 pp. Putnam. $17.99. (Ages 4 to 8) GOOD BOY Written and illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier. This latest from Ruzzier (the Fox & Chick books) has just one or two words per page. But with lovely art that turns effortlessly surreal, that's all it takes to tell a clever, comical story of a truly mutual relationship. A boy and his dog, whose coat is the same shade of yellow as the boy's hair, practice canine training commands like "Sit" and "Jump" that soon morph into wondrous feats like "Cook." Before you know it, the devoted pair are off on an outer-space adventure. 40 pp. Atheneum. $15.99. (Ages 4 to 8) WHAT IS GIVEN FROM THE HEART Written by Patricia C. McKissack. Illustrated by April Harrison. In this exquisite story of generosity from the beloved McKissack, who died in 2017, a little boy named James Otis and his mama have fallen on hard times after his father's death. But they keep their spirits up, focusing on a request by their minister to add to a "love box" for a family that lost everything in a fire. Harrison has created soft yet dazzling illustrations for this tribute to faith, hope and the African-American community 32 pp. Schwartz & Wade. $17.99. (Ages 4 to 8) THE NEIGHBORS Written and illustrated by Einat Tsarfati. Translated by Annette Appel. All apartment buildings contain tantalizing mysteries, and the red-haired girl who narrates this zany treat tells what's behind each door in hers: a tiger, a vampire, a family that "celebrates someone's birthday at least once a week." Tsarfati ("An After Bedtime Story") balances visual extravagance with sneaky insight into how kids think of home. 40 pp. Abrams. $16.99. (Ages 4 to 8) CRAB CAKE Written and illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi. The sea creatures who populate Tsurumi's underwater idyll live harmoniously, yet each does its own thing, including Crab, who bakes cakes. But when someone dumps trash into their home, the psychedelic colors darken. What to do? The eco-friendly lesson goes down easy as "everybody comes together," pitching in to haul the trash away, with another cake from Crab waiting at the end. 40 pp. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. $17.99. (Ages 4 to 8) CICADA Written and illustrated by Shaun Tan. Like all Tan's genre-defying books, this one vibrates with profound questions about how we choose to live and how we treat one another. A gray-suited cicada is an office drone, insulted and underpaid by the humans; he lives in an office wall space. After 17 years, he's shown the door. Despondent, he seems about to jump from the roof, but instead sheds the suit and becomes dozens of bright red insects, flying away to freedom. 32 pp. Arthur A. Levine. $19.99. (Ages 12 and up) MARIA RUSSO is the children's books editor of the Book Review.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [June 30, 2019]
Review by Booklist Review
I'm the whiskers of this neighborhood. And if it flutters, scurries, or scampers here, I know about it, prefaces cat-turned-sleuth Muffin on the first page of this delightful romp through picture-book noir, in which Muffin investigates the mysterious appearance of a bear in the bakery where she lives with her owner. Sarcone-Roach balances sweet and unexpected metaphors ( Warm, like a bath mat in the sunshine. It smelled like that bath mat needed a bath ) with wry moments of humor ( I had a tail. I mean, my tail had a tail. I mean there was something in the darkness ). Her warm and gestural illustrations, meanwhile, depict moody vignettes of the city at night, with shadowy alleys illuminated by the soft glow of lit windows. As the mystery builds, Sarcone-Roach's detailed scenes give way to simpler backgrounds, highlighting with only a few brushstrokes the outsize reactions of emotive Muffin. Adults will appreciate the tacit nods to classic sleuth stories, and young readers will adore the simple yet expressive illustrations. A cute and direct, yet elevated, tale.--Ada Wolin Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Sarcone-Roach (The Bear Ate Your Sandwich) returns to snacking bears in this sly comic mystery that stars an orange cat named Muffin. Narrator Muffin doesn't guard Little Bear Bakery, exactly. She does regularly investigate, however, identifying the noises of animals roaming nearby ("Clang crash crunch crunch is the raccoons in the dumpster"). One night, hearing a new sound ("Grrrrrrrrrrr"), she slips into the bakery to check things out. Little Bear Bakery has its own little bear intruder. Sarcone-Roach paints Muffin's tail in feline alarm mode, three times its normal size, and the cat's powers of observation shine: "Up close, the bear smelled like old socks, cinnamon, and adventure." Soon another, even larger bear appears behind her ("I had a tail. I mean, my tail had a tail"). Freely stroked Prussian blue and black nighttime scenes play up the kitty-cat noir theme with ominous shadows and stray beams of light. Moments of exaggerated animal shock deliver laughs, and the bakery havoc that follows is all that young fans of sugary chaos might hope for. Far from being threatened, the lithe detective experiences a bear hug and gets to oversee a gluttonous night shift before slinking off for a nap. Ages 4-8. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Contrary to what the name implies, there are no bears at The Little Bear Bakery.just ask Muffin the orange marmalade cat. "I'm the whiskers of this neighborhood. And if it flutters, scurries, or scampers here, I know about it." The feline is tops at identifying every, "Scratch scratch squeak" and "Clang crash crunch crunch." So, when she hears an unfamiliar, "grrrrrr," she knows this is not an everyday mouse or raccoon. In fact, it is a small bear with a rumbling tummy. The kindly Muffin offers up chocolate cake, donuts, and cookies to quiet the rumbles, but soon realizes that they have company. "It was an enormous bear. It smelled like the dumpster on a hot day and rumbled louder than the vacuum cleaner." After a thank you hug, it downs some rainbow sprinkles and exits with its baby through the back window as the sun rises. Muffin is ready for a nap after her exciting night shift just as the baker awakens to an inexplicable, jaw-dropping mess. The illustrations, rendered in acrylic, paint, cut paper, and markers with a palette of blues, black, orange, and yellow, are reminiscent of Don Freeman's work. The front endpapers feature a scrumptious array of iced buns, cookies, donuts, and eclairs, while the back ones show the remnants of the night's feast-nothing but crumbs and a half-eaten donut near a small gray mouse exclaiming, "I love sprinkles!" VERDICT This is not only a winning read-aloud, but also an excellent choice to introduce a mystery unit or a mini-lesson on onomatopoeia or simile. Another hit from the creator of The Bear Ate Your Sandwich.-Barbara Auerbach, Cairo Public Library, NY © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Sarcone-Roachs previous bear-centric picture book, The Bear Ate Your Sandwich (rev. 1/15), featured an unreliable offstage narrator, a cover-up, andspoiler alertno bears. Here, she flips the script with a narrator who faithfully recounts an eventful anddespite the titlebear-filled night. Orange tabby Muffin keeps watch over the city neighborhood after dark: If it flutters, scurries, or scampers here, I know about it. On the evening in question, Muffin hears a strange new rumbling sound while on patrol. After checking the alley for the usual suspects (mice, raccoons, bats), Muffin follows the grrr inside the bakerythe Little Bear Bakery. Surprise! The sound is coming from the belly of an actual (and hungry) little bear. The illustrations nighttime scenes are bathed in rich blues and blacks, with cool white moonlight and yellow streetlights adding shadows and just enough suspenseful atmosphere. A generous dollop of similes in Muffins account keeps the tone light: I slipped into the darkness like icing melting down a hot cake. Muffins gumshoe persona is more soft-hearted than hard-boiled, especially when the watchcats friendly response to the hungry intruder is to offer baked goods. The remainder of the night involves another, bigger bear; a bear hug (I was smooshed, like a muffin between the couch cushions); a lot more treats; and, in the morning, one dismayed baker. You cant argue with the feline detective, though. There arent any bears in this bakery. Not anymore. kitty Flynn March/April 2019 p 68(c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Muffin the cat knows everything that goes on in the neighborhood, and the perky marmalade cat is very sure that there are no bears in the Little Bear Bakery.Until one night the adorable little hard-boiled detective senses a mysterious new growling sound in the air and investigates. Following the noise and spouting Sam Spade-like comments ("I slipped into the darkness like icing melting down a hot cake"), Muffin enters the bakery and discovers the "biggest mouse I had ever seen." Correction: "the smallest bear I'd ever "seen." Using finely honed ace-detective skills, Muffin deduces the reason for that rumbling sound and gets on the case. Author/illustrator Sarcone-Roach uses acrylic paint and marker to depict Muffin and the baby bear joyfully breaking into display cases to reach the sweet treats. Once the rumbling (in the bear's tummy) has quieted, a dark shadow falls over the two, and they find they have a very large, very huggy visitor. It turns out that big bears like sprinkles, too. The next morning, after Muffin has seen the bears off safely, job done and case closed, the neighborhood returns to normal. Well, except for the owner of the bakery, a woman with pale skin and straight, black hair and a look of astonishment at the state of her shop that is priceless.A funny and charming cat-detective story accompanied by clever wordplay and delightful illustrations. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
