A nuanced celebration of the lasting joy that intergenerational friendship inspires.
A child creates and sends a letter to a beloved grandmother.
How does one commune with the dearly departed? Although listeners won’t know the nature of young Sylvester’s grandmother’s absence until they piece together context clues, this is the matter the child is working out. The opening depicts Sylvester drawing a picture that turns into scenes showing the heights and depths necessary to relay the message, because “Some letters can’t be delivered in the usual way.” The brown-skinned protagonist makes breakfast to energize sky divers who “form a human flower in midair,” then parachute down to a train making its way through a jungle. Following the river to the “rare pink dolphins,” Sylvester places the letter in a toy airplane and launches it; from there, it will “leap to meet the butterflies,” the ultimate carriers. Poet Burgess and artist Cochran—the team that produced Drawing on Walls (2020)—expertly capture an imaginative child’s perspective and logic with lovely, alliterative language and wordless spreads rendered in brilliant colors and markerlike scrawls. A marvelous double gatefold portrays the entire journey. Other ways of connecting include eating lunchtime pickles and learning to pickle—since G.G. (Greatest Grandma) was the “most pickle-loving person I know”—and a miraculous moment when a butterfly lands on Sylvester’s nose. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A nuanced celebration of the lasting joy that intergenerational friendship inspires. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2023
ISBN: 9781592703807
Page Count: 52
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
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
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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
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BOOK REVIEW
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