Next book

PENCIL

A stunning ode to the natural world and the cyclical nature of imagination.

A single pencil holds so much potential.

The shavings from a freshly sharpened pencil turn into the newly formed leaves of a tree sapling. As time progresses, the tree becomes part of a thriving natural space, surrounded by other arboreal wonders. Eventually, several trees are cut down and shipped to an industrial factory belching soot into the air, where they’re made into multicolored writing implements. In an art supply store, an East Asian–presenting child picks up one of these pencils from a wall of rainbow colors and embarks on a revelatory artistic journey. Originally published in South Korea, this impeccably told, wordless story is an enchanting tribute to the creative process and a celebration of patience and the natural world. Kim’s vibrant art, rendered in colored pencil and marker, is minutely detailed, with delicate linework that prominently showcases both action and stillness. A spread depicting the trees being cut down as birds fly away packs the same emotional punch as the illustrations of the child quietly drawing a forest of trees that come to life—a metafictive twist that brings the tale full circle. The tale closes with tips on how to read a wordless book that speak to the importance of creating space for children to engage with works like this one.

A stunning ode to the natural world and the cyclical nature of imagination. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: March 18, 2025

ISBN: 9781662665530

Page Count: 48

Publisher: TOON Books/Astra Books for Young Readers

Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025

Next book

ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

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

Next book

TINY T. REX AND THE IMPOSSIBLE HUG

Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back.

With such short arms, how can Tiny T. Rex give a sad friend a hug?

Fleck goes for cute in the simple, minimally detailed illustrations, drawing the diminutive theropod with a chubby turquoise body and little nubs for limbs under a massive, squared-off head. Impelled by the sight of stegosaurian buddy Pointy looking glum, little Tiny sets out to attempt the seemingly impossible, a comforting hug. Having made the rounds seeking advice—the dino’s pea-green dad recommends math; purple, New Age aunt offers cucumber juice (“That is disgusting”); red mom tells him that it’s OK not to be able to hug (“You are tiny, but your heart is big!”), and blue and yellow older sibs suggest practice—Tiny takes up the last as the most immediately useful notion. Unfortunately, the “tree” the little reptile tries to hug turns out to be a pterodactyl’s leg. “Now I am falling,” Tiny notes in the consistently self-referential narrative. “I should not have let go.” Fortunately, Tiny lands on Pointy’s head, and the proclamation that though Rexes’ hugs may be tiny, “I will do my very best because you are my very best friend” proves just the mood-lightening ticket. “Thank you, Tiny. That was the biggest hug ever.” Young audiences always find the “clueless grown-ups” trope a knee-slapper, the overall tone never turns preachy, and Tiny’s instinctive kindness definitely puts him at (gentle) odds with the dinky dino star of Bob Shea’s Dinosaur Vs. series.

Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back. (Picture book. 5-7)

Pub Date: March 5, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-4521-7033-6

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018

Close Quickview