A brilliantly simple paean to short vowels.
Don’t let the skunk drive the bus!
High-spirited antics are the name of the game in this beginner book centered on public transportation. At a typical bus stop, atypical passengers are boarding. “Bug ran to the bus.” An odd-looking six-legged creature clutching the strap of a bright purse runs pell-mell toward the vehicle. “Hop on.” The bug is followed by a veritable array of critters, including a pig, a pup, a bat, a fox, a hen, a cat, and a slug. When a skunk joins the proceedings, everyone—including the pale-skinned human bus driver—suddenly has an urge to disembark. Everyone, that is, but the bug, who joins the skunk on a trip to the beach, where they play a game of badminton. Keeping the text admirably short for early readers, Catrow still manages to milk optimal humor out of things like the slug’s ridiculously slow boarding time. For those who notice that the slug has feet, Catrow has written a note addressing this fact. “His full name is Slug J. Caterpillar,” an allusion to the very real slug caterpillar species (though he notes that he’s given his character more legs “because he has so many things to carry”). Catrow’s style suggests chaos at every corner, yet he keeps the frenzied activities contained within his hairy watercolors. It’s an impressive accomplishment on every level.
A brilliantly simple paean to short vowels. (Early reader. 4-7)Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9780823461080
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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
BOOK REVIEW
Unusual illustrations enhance an engaging, informative narrative.
What can a worm do?
A little worm sets off on a “twirl” to “see the world.” But when it overhears a human referring to it as “just a worm,” its feelings are hurt. The worm asks other critters—including a caterpillar, a spider, a dragonfly—what they can do. After each answer (turn into a butterfly, spin silk thread, fly), the worm becomes more and more dejected because it can’t do any of these things. “Maybe I am just a worm.” But then the worm encounters a ladybug, who eats aphids and other insects, and the worm realizes that it eats dead plants and animals and keeps gardens clean. And though the worm can’t pollinate like the bee, it does create castings (poop) that help plants grow and stay healthy. These abilities, the worm realizes in triumph, are important! The cleverness of this story lies in its lighthearted, effective dissemination of information about various insects as well as earthworms. It doesn’t hurt that the expressive little worm is downright adorable, with emotions that will resonate with anyone who has felt unimportant. The stunning illustrations are done in quilled paper—a centuries-old technique that involves assembling strips of colored paper into shapes—which adds sparkle and originality. A tutorial of how to make a quilled butterfly and a page on earthworm facts round out the book. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Unusual illustrations enhance an engaging, informative narrative. (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-321256-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
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