A tender tale to help little ones master the days of the week—and find a way to savor each one.
Each day of the week means something different to this child.
The youngster is less than exuberant each Monday. With the weekend over, Mama goes to work and drops the protagonist off at day care. Fortunately, friends and fun brighten the little one’s spirits. Monday may be for moping, but “TUESDAY is for tiptoeing!” Dressed in a tutu and pink shoes, the child eagerly attends dance class after school. Each subsequent day highlights a different experience. “WEDNESDAY is for wiggling” (on Mama’s day off!), “THURSDAY is for thinking” (with a trip to the library), and “FRIDAY is for friends!” Saturday is spent with Gramma and Grandpa at the community garden, while the child rides scooters with Daddy by the canal on Sunday. The focus on what makes each day special might encourage families to look closely at their own routines and note favorite weekly traditions. Sterling’s pencil illustrations are smudgy and warm, imbuing the tale with a deep sense of affection, while Wong Nava’s energetic text is punctuated with exclamations. Every spread depicts characters laughing, playing, and relishing time spent together. Mama, Daddy, Gramma, and the child are brown-skinned, Grandpa is light-skinned, and their community is diverse. Context clues suggest that Mama and Daddy live in separate households, but this family’s love is what shines through most strongly.
A tender tale to help little ones master the days of the week—and find a way to savor each one. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 1, 2025
ISBN: 9781536242997
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
Sadly, the storytelling runs aground.
A little red sleigh has big Christmas dreams.
Although the detailed, full-color art doesn’t anthropomorphize the protagonist (which readers will likely identify as a sled and not a sleigh), a close third-person text affords the object thoughts and feelings while assigning feminine pronouns. “She longed to become Santa’s big red sleigh,” reads an early line establishing the sleigh’s motivation to leave her Christmas-shop home for the North Pole. Other toys discourage her, but she perseveres despite creeping self-doubt. A train and truck help the sleigh along, and when she wishes she were big, fast, and powerful like them, they offer encouragement and counsel patience. When a storm descends after the sleigh strikes out on her own, an unnamed girl playing in the snow brings her to a group of children who all take turns riding the sleigh down a hill. When the girl brings her home, the sleigh is crestfallen she didn’t reach the North Pole. A convoluted happily-ever-after ending shows a note from Santa that thanks the sleigh for giving children joy and invites her to the North Pole next year. “At last she understood what she was meant to do. She would build her life up spreading joy, one child at a time.” Will she leave the girl’s house to be gifted to other children? Will she stay and somehow also reach ever more children? Readers will be left wondering. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 31.8% of actual size.)
Sadly, the storytelling runs aground. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-72822-355-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
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