This loving tribute to friendship—and storytelling—has all the “write” stuff.
True friendships last forever, although they may take some work.
Hazel, a bespectacled brown bear clad in overalls, and Mabel, a raccoon sporting a long red dress, are the best of pals. Granted, neither is perfect; sometimes Mabel eats the last of the gumdrops, and Hazel tends to snore during slumber parties. Still, they know that their friendship will go the distance—a belief that’s put to the test when Mabel moves away. Although they stay connected through letters, they find themselves growing apart. When Mabel comes for a visit, neither can decide on a shared activity, and they realize they’ve grown apart. Just as it looks as though their friendship is no longer on firm ground, they remember the good times and reconnect as they pen a story about past experiences, “writing with full hearts.” Told gently, with a conversational tone, Stoller’s relatable narrative depicts youngsters who remain close despite changes in friendship dynamics. Bagdi’s sunny digital illustrations employ a mix of double-page spreads and spot art as they convey the ups and downs of friendship; Hazel and Mabel smile as they float paper boats down a stream, gaze sadly after they’re separated, and initially look downcast as they encounter roadblocks during their much-anticipated reunion.
This loving tribute to friendship—and storytelling—has all the “write” stuff. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781957655574
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Gnome Road Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor
Having surveyed worms, spiders, flies, and head lice, Gravel continues her Disgusting Critters series with a quick hop through toad fact and fancy.
The facts are briefly presented in a hand-lettered–style typeface frequently interrupted by visually emphatic interjections (“TOXIN,” “PREY,” “EWWW!”). These are, as usual, paired to simply drawn cartoons with comments and punch lines in dialogue balloons. After casting glances at the common South American ancestor of frogs and toads, and at such exotic species as the Emei mustache toad (“Hey ladies!”), Gravel focuses on the common toad, Bufo bufo. Using feminine pronouns throughout, she describes diet and egg-laying, defense mechanisms, “warts,” development from tadpole to adult, and of course how toads shed and eat their skins. Noting that global warming and habitat destruction have rendered some species endangered or extinct, she closes with a plea and, harking back to those South American origins, an image of an outsized toad, arm in arm with a dark-skinned lad (in a track suit), waving goodbye: “Hasta la vista!”
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor . (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77049-667-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
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