ACCESS DIGITIZED EDITION
Guide/Reviews Database
PICTURE BOOKS
Rothman, Scott

Kittybunkport

32 pp. | Viking | May, 2025 | Trade ISBN 9780593622063 $18.99 | Ebook ISBN 9780593622070 $10.99
(2) K-3 Illustrated by Zachariah OHora. Best friends Chowder and Crackers love living and lobstering in the seaside town of Kittybunkport, though the lighthouse, allegedly possessed by lobster ghosts, is a drawback. One day the light goes out, and when "not one scaredy-cat in Kittybunkport raised their paw" to volunteer to investigate why, the BFFs are drafted into service and reluctantly head over in their boat (the Lobsta' Lova'). Rothman's cheeky text and OHora's cartoonlike illustrations keep any hint of spookiness at bay. The third-person narration often plays it straight ("Luckily, this didn't scare Chowder or Crackers...one bit"), while speech bubbles deliver the cat duo's well-scripted banter (Chowder: "I wouldn't say I'm terrified of it." Crackers: "I would. That's exactly what I would say"). Once inside the lighthouse, the two make their way "through thick, very gross cobwebs" and up the "creaky stairs." They're relieved to reach the top, only to encounter a giant lobster-shaped shadow -- "RUN! Lobster ghost!" A record-scratch of a page-turn assures us, "It wasn't." The shadow belongs to a chatty fishing dog ("as you can tell by the extremely yellow pants I'm wearing") who is on the scene with a very big lightbulb. OHora's digitally rendered art in saturated retro-hued colors makes the most of the humor; details such as the little lobster ghosts floating through many of the scenes will make readers want to haunt these pages again and again.
Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2025

RELATED 

PICTURE BOOKS

Born Ready
by Patterson, Jodie
PICTURE BOOKS

The House of Grass and Sky
by Ray, Mary Lyn
PICTURE BOOKS

The Dog's Gardener
by Storms, Patricia
PICTURE BOOKS

And I Paint It
by Kephart, Beth
PICTURE BOOKS

Poem in My Pocket
by Tougas, Chris
More

Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?