An empathetic, gorgeously wrought look at striking a balance between helping others and setting healthy boundaries.
A determined young vehicle learns a lesson in self-care.
Wheetle, a cheerful red anthropomorphized wagon whose handle resembles a face, greets the day with vim and vigor, ready to help out the other residents of the forest, all the while looking forward to “his favorite morning of the year,” circled on his calendar. He carries “slimy things and fragile things…along the roughest road, up…and down the big hill,” despite the presence of a squeaky wheel that gets progressively worse as the week goes on. When the circled date arrives, Wheetle enthusiastically starts his journey, only for his wheel to break while he’s assisting yet another friend. Thankfully, those he has helped along the way band together to carry him up the hill “just in time to see all the suns come up.” Caldecott Honor–winner Derby explores the fine line between being selfless and being taken advantage of; children and adults alike will readily relate. Her mixed-media collage art relies on warm yellows, oranges, blues, and purples to glorious effect, depicting a world that readers will easily lose themselves in. Wheetle himself is utterly expressive, his frustration, disappointment, and, at last, unabashed happiness coming through clearly. Derby’s text has a pleasing rhythm and contains charming details, from the many items Wheetle ferries to the “bottle-cap bow tie” he dons before setting out on that special day.
An empathetic, gorgeously wrought look at striking a balance between helping others and setting healthy boundaries. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 22, 2025
ISBN: 9781250325501
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 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
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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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