Celebratory and affirming.
A beloved song gets a jubilant glow-up.
Everyday moments and landmark events spark joyful revelry in a picture book that encourages readers to “find determination / deep down in your soul” and let their inner light shine. Both instructive (“Give both praise and thanks / before you take your bow”) and ripe with attestations (“You kept pressing on”), the text has a lilting cadence that lends a cheerfulness to the overall tone, though neither words nor images shy away from acknowledging struggle (a reference to “those who overcame” is paired with images of Rosa Parks and an enslaved person working the fields). Rendered in a solid, vibrant palette, Andrews’ flat digital illustrations showcase a fully Black cast of characters who feature a range of brown skin tones, ages, and abilities; several notable African Americans, including Shirley Chisholm and Frederick Douglass, are spotlighted. The refrain of “Let it shine” appears in triplicate on each right-hand page, each time in a distinct and dynamic array amid the surrounding art. As Children’s Literature Legacy and Newbery Honor–winning author Weatherford explains in an appended note, the text is a creative expansion on the lyrics of the American spiritual “This Little Light of Mine.” Intended “to mark milestones and achievements,” the book skews potentially repetitive for a read-aloud but seems destined to thrive as a graduation present. Additional backmatter includes a brief timeline and list of noted artists’ recordings of the song.
Celebratory and affirming. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2026
ISBN: 9780593805756
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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