Rubylicious: Great for Holiday and Christmas Reading or Gifting

by Victoria Kann

The #1  New York Times  bestselling author-artist of the Pinkalicious series, Victoria Kann, is back with an all new-picture book about generosity and kindness, starring Pinkalicious and Peterrific. Pinkalicious is searching for stones for her rock collection when suddenly—POOF!—out pops a surprise! Rocky is here to grant Pinkalicious and her brother Peter one wish, and one wish only, so they must choose wisely. Should they wish for a pile of sweets? Or the ability to fly? Or maybe a castle with a fire-breathing dragon? But are any of those things good enough to be their very best, most special wish in the whole wide world? And what will happen to Rocky after they make their wish? This gem of a book looks at how being selfless can be its own best reward. Rubylicious is a sparkling addition to the Pinkalicious library! 

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Magic

40 pages, Hardcover

First published September 28, 2021

About the author

Victoria Kann is the award-winning illustrator and author of the picture book series featuring the whimsical and effervescent character Pinkalicious. Victoria coauthored and illustrated the first two books, Pinkalicious and Purplicious. In addition, she cowrote Pinkalicious: The Musical and wrote and illustrated the #1 New York Times bestsellers Goldilicious and Silverlicious. Currently she is working on several more books about the adventures and antics of Pinkalicious. You can visit her online at www.thinkpinkalicious.com.

Reviews

[La Coccinelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read another book in the Pinkalicious series a couple years ago, and then vowed to avoid them going forward. Well, I saw that the library had this new one, and I was curious. It can't possibly be any worse, I thought. And... it wasn't. But not by much.

Pinkalicious (I hope she grows up and sues her parents for giving her that moniker) finds a rock. It's dirty, so she polishes it, and out pops a genie. But she's not a genie. She grants wishes and she lives in a rock, but she's not a genie, okay? Anyway, the kids wish for stupid things like piles of candy and flying machines. Rather than just let the kids make their own mistakes, Rocky the non-genie gives them a sampling of each wish. Finally, the kids decide that their wishes are stupid (duh) and wish for something much better... at which point everyone is rewarded and gets everything they wanted. The end.

I can't stand picture books that are this facile and silly. There are no stakes and no consequences. As a result, I didn't really care about what happened to any of these characters. The illustrations are colourful, but almost to the point of pain. I guess kids might like them. But I wouldn't want to inflict these books on anyone I cared about.

If you're looking for a book series about a spunky, colourful little girl, try Fancy Nancy instead. Unlike the Pinkalicious books, those ones are more firmly grounded in reality with cute, relatable little life lessons and charming pictures.

[Meghan Bohn · Rating 1 out of 5]

To paraphrase my boss, this is what would happen if you had a bot read all the Pinkalicious books and then write one. I'm still trying to process what I just read.

[Zibby Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

The newest gem in the Pinkalicious series invites you to go along with Pinkalicious and her brother Peter on an adventure that asks: If you could wish for anything in the world, what would it be?

I loved this book. It had the trademark originality of the Pinkalicious series with a new, original twist. I really enjoyed the genie character Rocky and how he guided Pinkalicious and Peterrific (such a cute nickname!) into understanding what their wishes would be like if granted. Even as adults, we don’t necessarily think of precisely what it would be like for our wish to come true. The book pointed to a deeper level than simple wish fulfillment. Delightful.

To listen to my interview with the author, go to my podcast at: https://zibbyowens.com/transcript/vic...

[Ellon · Rating 1 out of 5]

That was... bad.

Like the plot was all. over. the. place.

Pinkalicious finds her 100th rock and out comes a not genie to grant her a wish. But the "granter of wishes" shows the wish first and Pinkalicious and Peter see all the downsides of their wishes. There is a lot of heavy handed messages within that (like safety and eating healthy). Oh and the wish granter is afraid of all the wishes. Then Pinkalicious uses her wish on the wish granter, which breaks a curse and she is no longer afraid so she grants smaller versions of the previously mentioned wishes complete with "nutritious lollipops" *puke emoji*

A mess.

[Kayli]

why is ruby so pretty

[Stephanie Bange · Rating 3 out of 5]

The latest title in the series, Pinkalicious finds a red rock - her 100th - to add to her collection. When her brother Peter rubs it to make it shiny, a poof of red smoke and figure that they name Rocky appears, offering to grant them one wish. Pinkalicious and Peter explore several self-serving ideas until they notice that each makes Rocky nervous. The children wish for Rocky to be brave so she could have more fun granting wishes and find a wonderful surprise left behind.

Like the rest of the series, this is light and upbeat, with smiling children. The character trait featured is selflessness/consideration of others. Mixed media/digitized illustrations by Kann are in her familiar style - bright and cheery.

Fans of Pinkalicious will love this one, as well. Recommended for grades PreS-3.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the seventh installment of the Pinkalicious series, Pinkalicious and her brother Peter find a genie in some rocks and call her "Rocky." She grants them some wishes but she is afraid of many things that come out of them. Pinkalicious and Peter help her by wishing she would be brave. I like the illustrations of this book and Pinkalicious is less bratty than in other books, which is a plus. However, the story is very strange and all over the place. It left me scratching my head.

[Dina · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book that does not distinguish itself from the others in the series was one of my first thoughts after reading this book. Although with this being said, I have a feeling that my younger students will like this book because it has elements they like in books--a princess, a castle, granted wishes and being from a series. Overall, it is okay.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The descriptions says the two kids have one wish only. Well, really they got to experience a whole bunch of wishes to find out they weren't really that great of a wish, so they wouldn't chose that as their official wish. And then at the end they get a nutritious lollipop that lasts forever. I am curious on how that works. Plus, where do you put it when you don't eat it?

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pinkalicious and Peter find someone who can grant their best wish. However, she is afraid of wishes going wrong so shows them what can happen with each thing they wish for. They realize their best wish is that Rocky not be afraid any more. When this is granted, they learn that Rocky is actually Ruby and she has been under a curse. I love the message of caring for someone else.

[Lisa D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Alicia Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

For: readers looking for a sweet fantasy book.

Possible red flags: characters in peril; anxiety.

[Holly Letson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun adventure with Pinkalicious and Peter

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Pinkalicious books are adorable and I was happy to see that there was a new one. It was fun reading this with my son. Cute characters and cute storylines.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have no idea how this got published. It’s seriously just fluff. No lessons learned, no point to the story, no great vocab to teach children new and interesting words. Nothing.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute addition to the Pinkalicious series.

[Josie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story.

[Marcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous illustrations but a rather bizarre story.

[Chelsea Sipes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Pinkalicious story is about being Selfless as well as being brave! I had so much fun reading this one I thought that Ruby was a pretty cool not genie!

[Ronald · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to my 5 year old granddaughter.

[Sawyer Putman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry but the is just terrible. My daughter loves it because the illustrations are super girly…. But one I wouldn’t mind if it fell in the trash. 😅

[Pinky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pinkalicious and Peter meet Rocky who turns out to be Ruby.