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Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite
Max is a very clever mockingbird. Like all mockingbirds, Max mimics sounds. He loves being in the city with many sounds to mimic. In Brandee Huddleston’s Holiday Hero: Max the Mockingbird, Max is saturated with city noise, from hockey pucks skittering across the ice to train engines choo-chooing. When he comes upon some children up to no good, he uses his knowledge of sounds. At first, the children are annoyed and shoo him away. But, claiming to be bored, the children start breaking into homes to steal gifts from under Christmas trees. Max finds a way to use his repertoire of sounds to deter their heartless ways. Will he succeed? Or will the children find just another house to break into?
Brandee Huddleston’s picture book, Holiday Hero: Max the Mockingbird, is another addition to the Readers Huddle Collection. The story begins by introducing the sounds of the city, using onomatopoeia effectively and with flair. That’s one thing so appealing to young readers: sound words. When Max encounters the naughty children, the plot thickens and young readers will be sitting on the edge of their seats, wanting to find out how a resolution is achieved. The story is told in simple language, usually a single word or sentence highlighted in a story cube. The illustrations by Courtney Huddleston are bright, bold, colorful, and full of action, much like one would find in a graphic novel or a cartoon book. Although the story centers around a very heroic and clever mockingbird, the themes are quite clear: honesty, community, caring and watching out for others, and the wonderful magic that surrounds the holiday season. A great addition to a child’s library of Christmas stories.
