A Rugrats Chanukah - Review

Author: Kim Smith

Genre: Children's Book

Format: Hardback

Pages: 40

Start off with a huge thank you to Quirk Books for an early copy of A Rugrats Chanukah in exchange for my honest review. So let's go!

My 90's baby heart exploded when I opened this package from Quirk Books. I grew up on The Rugrats and I watched reruns with my little brother. On top of that, I have loved every single Pop Classic that Kim Smith has put out. There wasn't a single doubt in my mind that I was going to love this. 

I did more than love this. I've shown it off since I got it, devoured the same night before I could even get in on social media, and then I read it again. And, I know full well it will make an appearance at Christmas time. 

It's everything I loved about the Rugrats growing up, with the artwork I've come to love from Kim Smith. Before I started reading I had vague memories of this episode, and from what I can remember I honestly think Smith did this story justice. She definitely did the characters justice. While the artwork is very much what I've come to love from Smith and this collection of books. It was also very much the color palette and feel of the cartoon I grew up with. Don't get me started on the animation they're using for the new episode. I've seen half a clip and I hate it. 

But, I feel like Smith did the nostalgia justice while staying true to her own style. I also really loved that all the characters I remember appeared to some degree throughout the book, whether at the end on the front and back flaps. In fact, I think two characters were missing from later seasons. But, for this episode, everyone makes at least one appearance!

As I mentioned before I only have a vague recollection of this episode because I probably haven't seen it since it first aired. Which was probable like two decades ago, but without a doubt, I feel like Kim Smith stayed true to what I remember about The Rugrats as a whole. Tommy had his famous line, "A baby's gotta do, what a baby's gotta do, Angelica was the worst, and Chuckie spent the entire book worried about everything. The book also held meaning and a lesson to learn which was pretty common for all kids cartoons back then. 

I honestly was surprised with how much I adored this book or Kim Smith's spin on the story I grew up with. She's done an amazing with the entire Pop Classics series. I feel like this series is great for introducing the new generation of kids to the things we grew up with as parents and grandparents (she has some 80's classics in this collection too). It's also a great throwback for all of us who grew up with the originals. Of the entire series, I'm really glad I've been able to add this gem to my collection. 

A Rugrats Chanukah comes out on Sept 28, 2021! For more information, you can visit Quirk Books or Kim Smith's website!

HAPPY READING!!