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THAT ALWAYS HAPPENS SOMETIMES

Name: THAT ALWAYS HAPPENS SOMETIMES
Author: Kiley Frank
ISBN: 9781984852434

by Kiley Frank ; illustrated by K-Fai Steele ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 2, 2024

A deeply satisfying tale of a square peg who finds a way to triumph.

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A day in the life of a well-meaning child who’s somehow never far from trouble.

Young Max spits out too-hot oatmeal and makes a huge mess, forgets to get dressed, and misses the bus after being distracted by the sight of squirrels devouring an old jack-o’-lantern outside. At school, Max has a long to-do list (“Keep hands to myself”; “Don’t keep my sweatshirts here overnight”). Max’s teacher, Ms. Fitzmorris, winks encouragingly when Max hands in homework, and when Max plays a leading role in a group project that involves building a tower out of index cards, she’s thrilled. Frank writes in long, stream-of-consciousness sentences, capturing Max’s boundless excitement. (“Have you ever wanted to play on everything so badly that the only solution is for your body to explode into a bunch of different pieces, which is impossible to do safely?”) She offers a realistic yet sensitive portrait of a child who’s often a little out of step with the rest of the world but who’s undeniably perceptive and thoughtful—and who’s lucky enough to have a sympathetic adult who sees that. Many neurodivergent readers will recognize themselves in Max. Steele’s thick-lined watercolor, ink, and pencil illustrations brim with Max’s unbridled energy; each scene feels almost like a story, featuring details for attentive viewers to pick out. Max presents Asian, while Ms. Fitzmorris is brown-skinned; the class is diverse.

A deeply satisfying tale of a square peg who finds a way to triumph. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: July 2, 2024

ISBN: 9781984852434

Page Count: 42

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: April 5, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
TOMORROW IS WAITING
by Kiley Frank ; illustrated by Aaron Meshon

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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

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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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)