An entertaining read-aloud that will encourage kids to dig even deeper.
When the home of BFFs Tortoise and Mouse springs a leak, Tortoise decides to dig a new burrow.
Mouse agrees that the two will play after Tortoise is done. But when Tortoise completes the job, Mouse is nowhere to be found. Other animals show up, each asking if there might be room for them, too. Tortoise obliges but continues to wonder: Where is Mouse? And where have all the other animals gone? Finally, Tortoise discovers Mouse has gone to visit Armadillo. Frustrated, Tortoise explodes at Mouse—only to discover that she and all the other grateful animals have a wonderful surprise. Reminiscent of Jan Brett’s classic tale The Mitten, the story deftly employs repetition as Tortoise digs: “a room for Rabbit, / a room for Tortoise, and a room for Mouse… / if she ever came back.” An author’s note explains that the protagonists are based on the real-life gopher tortoise and the Florida mouse; the former is a keystone species that creates homes for many other creatures. Readers curious about the habits of the other animals mentioned in the book will be spurred on to further research. Kastner’s gouache, watercolor, and pastel illustrations rely on warm natural shades and textures. The characters are deeply expressive, particularly Tortoise, whose enthusiasm, fatigue, and eventual anger are palpable. Cross-sectional views of the extensive burrow will suck in kids who enjoy maps or schematics.
An entertaining read-aloud that will encourage kids to dig even deeper. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781665931359
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2025
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.
All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.
Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
