A well-played account of a newcomer learning to roll with the punches.
Sometimes a gambit is all it takes.
When 7-year-old Auggie moves from the seaside to the country with his father, he feels like he’s in an entirely new world. There are no beaches here—just (very smelly) cows and corn as far as the eye can see. As Auggie explores his new home, he stumbles across his father’s chess set, a treasured heirloom. Enchanted by the wooden pieces and their elegant designs, Auggie asks if he can learn to play. It’s something pleasant to look forward to as he endures a rough first day at school. As the father and son play, Auggie begins to see his classmates as chess pieces running through the halls. A lesson on taking risks, known in chess terms as a “gambit,” helps Auggie break the ice with fellow student Luke. Costanza’s digital illustrations enhance Rusu’s narrative, and the subtle shading around Auggie’s eyes underscores the frustrations he feels while finding his way at school and learning to play chess. Costanza concisely captures the moves of the game, so readers intrigued by the story can learn the basics of the game. Auggie and his father are of Romanian descent; a pronunciation guide for “Tatâ” (Daddy) and “Bunicu” (Grandpa) would have helped readers unfamiliar with the terms. This quibble aside, Rusu offers youngsters a solid road map for navigating new places and new games. Auggie’s classmates are diverse.
A well-played account of a newcomer learning to roll with the punches. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780593710814
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Anne Schwartz/Random
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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