Readers will feel assured that anxiety is short-lived and friendship endures.
Josie, usually the best and first at almost everything, is the last in her class to lose a tooth—and she’s determined to change that.
Josie and Richard are friends with a healthy dose of competition at Blueberry Hill Elementary School. After a few unsuccessful attempts to lose a tooth just like Richard (and all her classmates), she laments, “What if she had baby teeth for the rest of her life?” Richard, the perennial friend, cheers her up with a game of shark-chases-squid tag during which Josie accidentally loses her tooth—literally. Josie worries that the Tooth Fairy won’t come through on her end of the bargain and writes her a letter of appeal. A surprising gift reveals an understanding Tooth Fairy who boosts friendship over money. Mann’s rustic pencil-and-pastel illustrations so closely resemble a child’s drawings it’s as if Josie has chronicled her own story. The inclusion of the letters to and from the Tooth Fairy may very well inspire young writers. The realistic dialogue, effective use of italics, and simple, kidlike vocabulary work well with the illustrations to create a satisfying tale on a familiar theme centered on friendship, play, and imagination. Josie has brown skin, rosy cheeks, and dark brown braids, and Richard has pale skin, freckles, and red hair.
Readers will feel assured that anxiety is short-lived and friendship endures. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9694-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
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
Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees.
After Duncan finds his crayons gone—yet again—letters arrive, detailing their adventures in friendship.
Eleven crayons send missives from their chosen spots throughout Duncan’s home (and one from his classroom). Red enjoys the thrill of extinguishing “pretend fires” with Duncan’s toy firetruck. White, so often dismissed as invisible, finds a new calling subbing in for the missing queen on the black-and-white chessboard. “Now everyone ALWAYS SEES ME!…(Well, half the time!)” Pink’s living the dream as a pastry chef helming the Breezy Bake Oven, “baking everything from little cupcakes…to…OTHER little cupcakes!” Teal, who’s hitched a ride to school in Duncan’s backpack, meets the crayons in the boy’s desk and writes, “Guess what? I HAVE A TWIN! How come you never told me?” Duncan wants to see his crayons and “meet their new friends.” A culminating dinner party assembles the crayons and their many guests: a table tennis ball, dog biscuits, a well-loved teddy bear, and more. The premise—personified crayons, away and back again—is well-trammeled territory by now, after over a dozen books and spinoffs, and Jeffers once more delivers his signature cartooning and hand-lettering. Though the pages lack the laugh-out-loud sight gags and side-splittingly funny asides of previous outings, readers—especially fans of the crayons’ previous outings—will enjoy checking in on their pals.
Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9780593622360
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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