Robin Newman

Hildie Bitterpickles was a little witch who loved the quiet. Unfortunately for her, some noisy new neighbors - a giant residing at the top of a massive beanstalk, an old woman who lived in a shoe with her many children, one of the three pigs fleeing the big bad wolf - began to seriously disrupt her nighttime rest. After getting so fed up that she attempted unsuccessfully to move house, Hildie finally did what she should have done all along: she went and spoke to her neighbors, working to show more find a solution that would please everyone...

As someone who has had problems sleeping at different points in my life, and who has also had the misfortune to live in some VERY loud apartment buildings - at my last apartment in NYC, I lived above people with a karaoke machine, who believed in regularly partying until the small hours with their closest one hundred friends - I identified with Hildie's woes here on an almost visceral level. Nothing is more maddening than wanting to sleep, and being prevented from doing so by the moronic thoughtlessness of others. I had to laugh at a review I read, claiming that the concerns raised in Hildie Bitterpickles Needs Her Sleep were indicative of suburban intolerance, as I thought that the solution to Hildie's problem - talking it out with her neighbors, and finding a solution that addressed their concerns, as well as hers - was a great example of tolerance and peacemaking skills. In my own situation, mentioned above, I would have been as likely to have a chat with my neighbors, who had the police called out for domestic violence complaints on more than one occasion, as I would have been to keep my windows open, given that some on floors above me liked to chuck raw food garbage out the window. But I digress.

Robin Newman's story in Hildie Bitterpickles Needs Her Sleep is engaging, and I appreciated all of the fairy-tale characters that appeared in it, both as Hildie's new neighbors, in the advertisements placed in the newspaper she reads at one point, and as her new roommates, in the houses she attempts to rent. As already mentioned, I also appreciated the solution here, as I do believe that attempting to address issues directly, rather than flying into a rage and/or attempting to escape the problem, is the better route. Sometimes (as in my own example above) this won't work, but many times it will. The accompanying artwork from Chris Ewald, a video game designer and animator who makes his debut here, are done digitally, and have some witchy charm, although sometimes the background was so dark it was difficult to see the details. All in all, although not destined to become a favorite, this was an entertaining witchy tale, one I would recommend to picture-book readers who enjoy such fare. show less

HILDIE PICKLES is a rollicking fun read about a little witch who just wants to get to sleep. Too bad her neighbors--all familiar fairy tale characters--conspire to thwart her. What lengths will Hildie go to find some peace and quiet? A shady mouse-realtor (introduced through a thoroughly hilarious newspaper classified ad spread) shows Hildie different options that are each worse than the next. But clever Hildie makes lemonade out of lemons and fashions a satisfying solution to her sleep show more deprivation.

I loved the digitally created art- which has a lovely pastel feel and a wonderful palette. The visual details will cause readers to linger, and at the word play and lively language will make this a bedtime favorite. show less

When Miss Rabbit’s carrot cake vanishes, Missing Food Investigators (MFIs) Captain Griswold and Detective Wilcox take the case and solve the crime. The first Wilcox and Griswold Mystery establishes the two mouse investigators and the setting on Ed’s Farm, using familiar but distinct characters that children will easily recognize such as a grumpy owl and gluttonous pig. With six short chapters, The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake is the perfect choice for newly independent readers who are show more just shy of moving on to chapter books. However, Detective Wilcox’s unique narrative voice also makes this book a great read aloud option for a slightly younger audience. Zemke’s color illustrations fit perfectly with the story’s tone and break up the text well. The faux case file design of the front and back matter contribute to the comedic mystery theme and add to the fun of how seriously the MFIs take the case. The conclusion nicely wraps up this first but hopefully not only case in the series, and an included recipe for carrot cake is yet another fun element to this food mystery. Among the most original advanced early readers of the year, The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake is highly recommended for ages four to seven. show less

This is a story of a bear and a woodpecker. Bear needs to sleep and accidentally destroyed the woodpeckers’ home. The woodpecker needs to build. Between the two of them, the bear is not getting to sleep. This results in name-calling. While the bear starts it out, the woodpecker completes it. And fuzzybutt is born. However, the woodpecker apologizes and the two find a happy balance. As someone with a woodpecker in their yard, I fully understand the pecking and how grading it can be show more sometimes. I like that these two became friends and that the book has the lesson of a don’t call people names. The illustrations are lovely, and I do enjoy them. I do wish this story while Good had a shorter better flow, but it still works. show less