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I'LL BE YOUR POLAR BEAR

Name: I'LL BE YOUR POLAR BEAR
Author: Justin Roberts
ISBN: 978-0-525-51639-2

by Justin Roberts ; illustrated by Chuck Groenink ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 11, 2022

Unconditional love and security abound.

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As they move through a dark wintry landscape, a parent promises to protect their child in every way.

Together, the tan-skinned pair count the stars, “tiptoe over ice / tumble through the snow,” and push through the winds. Through it all, the adult promises, “I’ll be your polar bear.” The two humans seem to morph into an adult polar bear and a young cub. The bears skate on the ice, crunch through the snow, and cuddle in ice caves, with the adult bear draping a paw over the little one. The parent bear echoes the human: “I promise and I swear / that I’ll be your polar bear.” If the little one is alone in the sea on an ice patch, the parent promises to rescue them, and if the cub is too tired to walk, then a piggyback ride will be the way home. As the story draws to a close, the figures are seen approaching their house and then safe and warm inside. The parent’s voice narrates the tale in gentle, first-person rhyming verses. Groenink’s beautiful, wintry, blue-lit illustrations bring the action to life in a variety of illustrations. Some images are full-page, while some pages are made up of horizontal panels; vignettes framed in white are also included as well as several text-free pages. At one moment, toward the end, as the parent and child enter the house, shadows make it unclear if the figures are humans or bears; what’s never uncertain, however, is the duo’s love for each other. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Unconditional love and security abound. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-525-51639-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
GIANT-SIZED BUTTERFLIES ON MY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
by Justin Roberts ; illustrated by Paola Escobar

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 25, 2025

A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S VALENTINE
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

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PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

by James Dean ; illustrated by James Dean ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 18, 2018

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among

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Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.

If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)