A charmer about cooperation and living together in harmony.
A tree welcomes everyone.
Little Red, a squirrel, scampers up a tree, cheerfully announcing that it belongs to him. Tree laughingly corrects him, pointing to a caterpillar chewing a leaf. The squirrel argues that the leaves are also his. Little Red’s displeased when Swift rests on a branch and thanks Tree for the perch. “Branches are for boinging,” says Little Red. “And, Tree, they’re all for me!” Wise Tree smiles, reminding Little Red to look again as Swift’s many friends alight everywhere. Soon, more mammals, birds, and bugs arrive. Tree happily teems with lifeforms: “We live here together, Little Red. I am for everyone, not just you.” Little Red decides to find his own tree, but he slips and lands on…Leopard, who licks her whiskers and quickly climbs the tree, announcing that it’s hers—as are all the animals in it! (Fortunately, Little Red escapes in time.) Tree chuckles, and all the creatures let out a roar; Little Red shouts, “This tree is for everyone!” Leopard flees, and a contrite Little Red begs to stay. Tree agrees and introduces Little Red to another squirrel. This gleeful U.K. import about trees’ crucial roles in the ecosystem delivers an excellent message about inclusion, friendship, and community. The illustrations sing with energetic movement; the lively characters, particularly Little Red and Tree, have very expressive personalities.
A charmer about cooperation and living together in harmony. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781664300620
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
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
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