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I DO NOT LIKE STORIES

Anti-book books are tricky, and this one doesn’t quite pull it off.

A grouchy reader finally finds an appealing topic.

“I do not like stories about waking up in the morning,” begins the light-skinned, dark-haired grump. Once off to school, the child continues to enumerate every single kind of disliked story on the left side of the double-page spreads while the right-hand page shows the family’s cat having parallel experiences: upsetting a fruit cart when the child expresses disdain for stories about fruit, climbing a tree when the kid says, “I do not like stories about deep dark forests,” and reentering the apartment through a window as the child reviles “stories about going home.” Comic-book–style panels divide the action while the muted, blue-dominated palette and simple lines of the illustrations match the downcast tone of the story. The only break in the repetitive structure is when the kid says, “I do not like stories about monsters that hide behind closed doors,” and then, after a bewhiskered, spread-spanning “BOO,” says, “Just kidding! That’s no monster. That’s my cat.” The kid only concedes, at the end, the possibility of “lik[ing] a story about a cat.” The story has a pleasant, soothing rhythm, but it never manages to get anywhere interesting. There’s no insight into why the antihero is so pessimistic, and the cat’s side-plot adventures are too mundane to entertain or offer a counternarrative.

Anti-book books are tricky, and this one doesn’t quite pull it off. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-77147-378-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Owlkids Books

Review Posted Online: May 16, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2020

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED

From the Little Blue Truck series

A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.

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In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.

Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”

A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: March 25, 2025

ISBN: 9780063387843

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025

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THE DAY THE CRAYONS MADE FRIENDS

Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees.

After Duncan finds his crayons gone—yet again—letters arrive, detailing their adventures in friendship.

Eleven crayons send missives from their chosen spots throughout Duncan’s home (and one from his classroom). Red enjoys the thrill of extinguishing “pretend fires” with Duncan’s toy firetruck. White, so often dismissed as invisible, finds a new calling subbing in for the missing queen on the black-and-white chessboard. “Now everyone ALWAYS SEES ME!…(Well, half the time!)” Pink’s living the dream as a pastry chef helming the Breezy Bake Oven, “baking everything from little cupcakes…to…OTHER little cupcakes!” Teal, who’s hitched a ride to school in Duncan’s backpack, meets the crayons in the boy’s desk and writes, “Guess what? I HAVE A TWIN! How come you never told me?” Duncan wants to see his crayons and “meet their new friends.” A culminating dinner party assembles the crayons and their many guests: a table tennis ball, dog biscuits, a well-loved teddy bear, and more. The premise—personified crayons, away and back again—is well-trammeled territory by now, after over a dozen books and spinoffs, and Jeffers once more delivers his signature cartooning and hand-lettering. Though the pages lack the laugh-out-loud sight gags and side-splittingly funny asides of previous outings, readers—especially fans of the crayons’ previous outings—will enjoy checking in on their pals.

Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 3, 2025

ISBN: 9780593622360

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Philomel

Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025

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