A sweet attempt to explore boundaries that doesn’t come together.
A penguin’s preference for personal space makes community life tricky.
Heloise likes a lot of things: eating fish Popsicles, sledding, and exchanging rocks with friends. She’s not a fan of leopard seals or crowds. But penguins need huddles (tight groupings of many birds) to keep warm and to protect themselves from predators. Heloise always makes up an excuse to avoid huddles; she doesn’t want to tell her friends the truth. Eventually her friends stop asking her to join them, but she worries that she doesn’t fit in. She leaves the Antarctic and tries unsuccessfully to find a new home. When she returns, her friends have a marvelous surprise for her at the next huddle. The book offers a sympathetic portrayal of a character who’s eager to maintain personal boundaries yet still wants to embrace her friends in her own way. Kerbel draws parallels between Heloise and many introverted humans, though the analogy feels a bit strained: People have the option of staying home when they feel overwhelmed, while refusing to huddle could spell death for a penguin. At times, the pacing is awkward or abrupt, such as the transition from Heloise’s search for a place to belong to her return home. Lugo’s gouache and colored-pencil illustrations are handsomely rendered and darling, particularly all the penguins with their cold-weather accessories and eyewear.
A sweet attempt to explore boundaries that doesn’t come together. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781459839106
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet notion that falls flat.
A hit song reimagined as a book about parental love.
Featured in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 1, Perri’s “A Thousand Years” deals with the speaker’s fear of romantic love. In picture-book form, it explores a parent’s unwavering love for a child, who grows from an infant into a toddler over the course of the narrative. The caregiver expresses awe when the youngster learns to stand and fear that the child might fall while beginning to walk. “I have spent every day waiting for you,” the parent says. “Darling, don’t be afraid.” What the child might fear isn’t clear from the joyful balloon- and rainbow-filled illustrations. The story borders on cloying, and words that might work when sung and accompanied by music don’t sound fresh on the page: “Time goes by. / You grow ever stronger as you fly.” The refrain, however, is a lovely sentiment: “I have loved you for a thousand years. / I’ll love you for a thousand more.” Perri’s legion of fans may flock to this version, illustrated by Ruiz with sparkling stars, bubbles, and big-eyed toddlers, but it doesn’t hold together as a narrative or an ode, as it’s billed, and it’s a long way from the original song. The child is tan-skinned, the parent is lighter-skinned, and other characters are diverse.
A sweet notion that falls flat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9780593622599
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
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