A heartwarming story of found family that readers will flock to again and again.
A loving bond is tested over distance and time in this gentle follow-up to Worm and Caterpillar Are Friends (2023).
Pink-and-purple Worm and rainbow-hued Butterfly are best friends, and according to Worm, that means they should always stick together. Soon, a chilly breeze blows in the first snowflakes of winter. Worm instinctively knows it’s time to burrow underground, lay an egg, and sleep, but although Worm’s nest is very hospitable, Butterfly must fly to Mexico, where it’s much warmer. Pledging to return, Butterfly flaps south, and Worm retreats to the nest, feeling abandoned. The arrival of Bird—whose BFF has also left—helps Worm realize that Butterfly may be gone, but their friendship will always endure. Their eventual reunion includes a special surprise, a new character hatched while Butterfly was migrating back home. The depth of emotion is evident on the characters’ faces and in their body language: the sad curled-up position struck by Worm while alone, the compassion in Bird’s eyes, and the overwhelming joy in Butterfly’s gestures when Worm refers to them as a family. Windness’ gorgeously saturated colors pop against the whimsical backgrounds—icy snowscapes, buoyant spring landscapes, even the velvety soil burrow. Backmatter briefly describes bird and butterfly migration, the diet of various bird species, and worm estivation.
A heartwarming story of found family that readers will flock to again and again. (Graphic early reader. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9781665966504
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Simon Spotlight
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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