A worthwhile journey that may convince young worriers to overcome their own fears.
Don’t let fears ruin your enjoyment of the world.
Willow, a bear with an oblong head and tiny ears, typically stays at home. Though she’s often invited to events, she’s scared of so many things (water, the dark, and heights, to name a few) that she declines them all—until her love of flowers pushes her to say yes to a viewing of wildflowers at the seaside fields. To get there, Willow must travel by raft, which gets stuck on some rocks. A frog tells Willow to jump into the water to help him push the raft. With his encouragement, the wary Willow eventually wades in, the raft is freed, and the frog joins the trip. As night falls, Willow shivers with fright, but a nearby raccoon hops on the raft and points out constellations and other phenomena in the sky. Then seagulls carry the new friends away from a treacherous waterfall, and Willow sees a beautiful view from high in the sky. The trip complete, Willow considers what it means to be brave. Though a bit purposeful, the narrative gently encourages readers to venture outside their comfort zones, especially when doing so yields great rewards and new experiences. Richly illustrated landscapes in marvelous speckled color shine on the page, while characters have an appealingly childlike cuteness to them, with big eyes and rounded heads.
A worthwhile journey that may convince young worriers to overcome their own fears. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: yesterday
ISBN: 9780593648308
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House Studio
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
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
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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