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630 MAPLE STREET

Name: 630 MAPLE STREET
Author: Marta Kulesza
ISBN: 9781782509295

EXPLORE OUR BUILDING THROUGH THE YEAR

by Marta Kulesza ; illustrated by Marta Kulesza ; translated by Polly Lawson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 14, 2025

Promises hours of creative, interactive diversion.

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So many reasons to visit this address.

Translated from Polish, Kulesza’s tale satisfies the universal seek-and-find desire, the human curiosity to know what goes on behind closed doors and in other people’s lives, as well as the creative pleasure of constructing narratives that piece together the connections among characters. An opening spread introduces readers to four suburban families who live in an apartment building at 630 Maple Street: a bookstore-owning couple named Olga and Elena, veterinarians Ava and Lee, grandparents Maria and Walter, and Olivia (a writer) and Lee (a chef). All the couples have kids—seven in total—and Ava’s pregnant with another. The cast expands further with another grandmother, a best friend, the building manager, a produce-delivering farmer and his child, two dogs, three cats, a recovering pigeon, and a bee who lives in the garden. Readers are invited to search for Steve the spider, two birds, a mouse, and a mole, then to peek wordlessly into the lives of everyone. Scenes are set both indoors (with dollhouselike cutaways) and outdoors, during every month for the next year. What are they doing? (Not watching screens; there are none.) Who’s visiting whom? What changes are taking place? Readers can simply spot the people and pets they know, focus on the setting, or tell a story or stories. Teal touches enliven the subdued colors in the simple, elegantly constructed cartoon illustrations. Isaac is brown-skinned; most of the other characters are pale-skinned.

Promises hours of creative, interactive diversion. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2025

ISBN: 9781782509295

Page Count: 28

Publisher: Floris

Review Posted Online: May 16, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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HOW TO CATCH A MAMASAURUS

From the How To Catch… series

by Alice Walstead ; illustrated by Andy Elkerton ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2024

A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series.

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Another creature is on the loose.

The long-running series continues its successful formula with this Hallmark card of a book, which features bright illustrations and catchy rhymes. This time, the mythical creature the racially diverse children set out to catch is an absent mom who does it all (lists of descriptors include the words banker, caregiver, nurse, doctor, driver, chef, housekeeper, teacher, entertainer, playmate, laundry service, problem solver, handywoman, cleaner, and alarm clock) but doesn’t seem to have a job outside the home and is inexplicably a dinosaur. As the children prepare gifts and a meal for her, the text becomes an ode to the skills the Mamasaurus possesses (“Day or night she’s always there. / She meets every wish and need”) and values she instills (“Sometimes life can mean hard work,” “kindness matters,” and “what counts is doing your best”). This well-intentioned selection veers into cliche generously sprinkled with saccharine but manages to redeem itself with its appreciation for mothers and all that they may do. Endpapers include a “to” and “from” page framed in a heart, as well as a page where young gift givers or recipients can draw a picture of their Mamasaurus.