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IT SIMPLY CAN'T BE BEDTIME

Name: IT SIMPLY CAN'T BE BEDTIME
Author: Pamela Paul
ISBN: 9780593532164

by Pamela Paul ; illustrated by Steven Salerno ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 20, 2025

An amusing addition to the bedtime story stack.

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A girl’s stuffed pig helps her postpone bedtime.

Daddy says it’s time to go to sleep, but his daughter insists that she isn’t ready. Her stuffed animal, Lady Pigsworth, takes the lead, suggesting creative tactics to delay the inevitable. With guidance from Lady Pigsworth, Daddy helps the girl exchange her fairy costume for pajamas, brush her teeth, clean her room, and read a story. But as the girl gets increasingly sleepy, she loses her enthusiasm for Lady Pigsworth’s escalating antics, which include requests for tea with scones, a lullaby (with the porcine plushie accompanying Daddy with her clarinet), and silk sheets strewn with flowers. Finally, the girl notices that Lady Pigsworth has worn herself out and tucks her stuffed animal into bed. Both drift off to sleep—but not before scheming to do it all again tomorrow. The basic plot is familiar enough, but it’s told with humor and sweetness, accompanied by Salerno’s retro-style illustrations, dominated by soothing nighttime hues of lavender and yellow. The text is entirely made up of dialogue, mostly between the father and Lady Pigsworth. The pig’s formal, British-inspired speech (“Tickety-boo, old chap”) makes for a fun read-aloud. The father and daughter model a strong, loving relationship as he joins her play wholeheartedly, giving her agency while also steadily guiding her toward bed. The human characters have light skin and dark hair.

An amusing addition to the bedtime story stack. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: May 20, 2025

ISBN: 9780593532164

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
RECTANGLE TIME
by Pamela Paul ; illustrated by Becky Cameron

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 25, 2025

A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S VALENTINE
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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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)