Hope in a Jar

November 1, 2024
Youngsters strive to achieve their dreams. Llewellyn, a contemplative white rabbit, starts collecting his dreams in jars, no matter how silly, loud, or quiet they are. After wishing for friends to play with, he encounters fellow hares Veera and Jaxx and introduces them to the joy of saving one's hopes. Eventually, those small yearnings ("I wish I could see a caterpillar turn into a butterfly") turn into grand aspirations ("I dream of going to the moon!"); the bunnies collect them en masse in an open wooded area. After a terrible storm hits, their colorful jars are destroyed, and they wonder, "What was the point of dreaming if everything could be lost?" But then they witness one of their hopes becoming a reality in the form of a graceful butterfly flitting away from their sole remaining jar. The friends decide to be grateful for what they have and continue to dream big things while being open to new experiences and the possibility of letting some dreams go. Fans of Marcero's previous outings with Llewellyn--In a Jar (2020) andOut of a Jar (2022)--will thoroughly enjoy this sweet, affirming tale. Her watercolor, pencil, ink, and digital illustrations are bathed in soothing blues, yellows, purples, and greens while using perspective to give the world, both big and small, a sense of profundity from any angle. A gentle look at the importance of always keeping hope alive.(Picture book. 4-7)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2025
Marcero continues the picture-book adventures of Llewellyn (In a Jar; Out of a Jar, rev. 3/22), a young white rabbit who collects the ineffable -- here his hopes and dreams -- in an attempt to better understand and control his life. He finds two like-minded friends at the playground, and the trio starts collecting things together. The gentle gradation of hues and delicate textures in Marcero's cartoon illustrations serve as approachable scaffolding on which to hang big ideas. Her depictions of hopes in jars (visiting a "faraway friend," getting a part in a play, flying in a rocket) create a visual path through the first half of the book, and she wields light and shadow to add drama. When the sky darkens and a storm destroys their jars, Llewellyn and his friends despair: "What was the point of dreaming if everything could be lost?" One last jar contains a bright yellow butterfly, though, which restores their hope, and they start collecting dreams again -- some they keep, some they realize, and some they let go "to make room for the unexpected." A story with philosophical subject matter and a nuanced and subdued approach to it. Adrienne L. Pettinelli

(Copyright 2025 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 16, 2025
Preschool-Grade 2 Whether his dreams are about deep-sea swimming or drumming, bunny Llewellyn saves them in jars. One hope is for friends--and when he meets bunnies Veera and Jaxx, the trio decides to start ""collect and share their hopes together."" Soon every dream, from performing in the school play to being a wildlife photographer, gets its own jar. When a storm destroys almost their whole collection, they wonder: "What was the point of dreaming if everything could be lost?" But one hidden jar, with an uplifting, bright dream of hope, encourages them to start again. Soon, they're filling new jars, and bolstered by their friendship, their dreams are bigger and better than before. Macero's spare, eloquent narrative is nicely extended through speech balloons and charming illustrations in sumptuous color, which artfully integrate the friends' activities and wishes--like Veera moongazing through a telescope alongside her jar-shaped dream of rocketing into space. This third Llewellyn title stands on its own, highlighting how to find reassurance amid life's ups and downs and what imagination and friends can inspire.

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