A necessary reminder that a little assertiveness can go a long way.
Squirrel’s attempts to make a present for a friend keep getting interrupted.
Tucked away in her treehouse, Squirrel realizes that Bear’s birthday is tomorrow. She decides to bake special blueberry cookies for him and sets out to gather the berries. But there is only one blueberry bush in the forest, and it is far away. As Squirrel starts to leave, Fox shows up and asks if she can wait around to give the mail carrier a package. Squirrel does not have time but doesn’t know how to say no. Throughout the day, more and more friends ask for favors that Squirrel is unable to deny. She “gets a lump in her throat” and pushes her own needs to the side to help her friends. But when she finally goes looking for the blueberries, it’s late at night and she falls down a hole. Squirrel’s friends come looking for her and help her realize they will still love her even if she has to say no sometimes. Cozy burnt orange tones mixed with cool purples and blues bring to life this tale translated from Spanish. The large-eyed anthropomorphic animals are endearing, and the setting seems both snug (inside Squirrel’s home) and vast (outdoor scenes). Readers who are oh-so-eager to please will hopefully take Squirrel’s lesson to heart. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A necessary reminder that a little assertiveness can go a long way. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 18, 2023
ISBN: 9788419253194
Page Count: 40
Publisher: NubeOcho
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
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
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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