A simple yet wonderfully satisfying escapade.
A girl and her dog go on an afternoon adventure.
Billie, a sturdy, brown-skinned child, and her rotund dog, Bean, set out for a stroll around the block while Mom is off doing laundry. Billie’s been out with Bean before—with Mom watching from the window. On her own now, Billie takes in the sights and sounds. As Bean scarfs up a bit of ice cream on the sidewalk, a kindly mother asks Billie her dog’s name. When Bean leads the pair into a small park to poo (“Billie has a bag”), they dance among the flowers and trees. But when they leave, the street looks unfamiliar. An aerial view of the city, a sea gull flying by, shows a brightly colored collection of tidy buildings. It’s complicated but not entirely scary, but Billie is in tears. Bean sets off with her in tow—and suddenly there is the familiar street and blue doorway and even a banana peel from an earlier scene. The image of the pair back in the cozy apartment, napping, flat out on the floor, is sweet, as is the hug from Mom (who is brown-skinned) when she returns. Hansson has a gift for showing us the world as experienced from the perspective of a small child. Her crisp linework, gentle, bright palette, and matter-of-fact text, translated from Swedish, are delightful, portraying a little one’s first forays into independence, joys, fears, and all. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A simple yet wonderfully satisfying escapade. (Picture book. 2-6)Pub Date: May 16, 2023
ISBN: 9781459834446
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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