An immensely satisfying glimpse of a family’s ability to navigate challenges through honest conversation and mutual support.
A parent and child share memories during their first day in a new home.
Hands, feet, faces. Close-ups of these body parts indicate proximity of child to parent in this quietly affecting story of separation and change. The book opens on two light-skinned faces wreathed with dark hair snuggled into bed pillows. The color of the text indicates the speaker (pink for the parent, blue for the child). Each episode begins with parent or child asking the titular question, and as time shifts between present and past, the design goes from double-page spreads to square, sequential panels, allowing Smith to home in on details: the parents sitting on a blue checkered picnic blanket in the hazy sunshine as the child presents berries; the child riding a bicycle before crashing, laughing, into a haystack; Grandpa’s lantern—its glow contrasting with the darkness the night the power went out. As in Smith’s previous stories, sensory descriptions beautifully gird the emotions of the visual narrative, and a sensitive caretaker and child face challenges with loving attention to one another. The parent and child recall how they got lost driving to the new dwelling; the child handed the parent the teddy bear that Dad—who hasn’t come with them—had given them. Gazing out the apartment window at dawn, surrounded by these familiar objects, the child wonders if this “magic” moment will also be a memory one day. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An immensely satisfying glimpse of a family’s ability to navigate challenges through honest conversation and mutual support. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9780823442621
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Neal Porter/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
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
Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees.
After Duncan finds his crayons gone—yet again—letters arrive, detailing their adventures in friendship.
Eleven crayons send missives from their chosen spots throughout Duncan’s home (and one from his classroom). Red enjoys the thrill of extinguishing “pretend fires” with Duncan’s toy firetruck. White, so often dismissed as invisible, finds a new calling subbing in for the missing queen on the black-and-white chessboard. “Now everyone ALWAYS SEES ME!…(Well, half the time!)” Pink’s living the dream as a pastry chef helming the Breezy Bake Oven, “baking everything from little cupcakes…to…OTHER little cupcakes!” Teal, who’s hitched a ride to school in Duncan’s backpack, meets the crayons in the boy’s desk and writes, “Guess what? I HAVE A TWIN! How come you never told me?” Duncan wants to see his crayons and “meet their new friends.” A culminating dinner party assembles the crayons and their many guests: a table tennis ball, dog biscuits, a well-loved teddy bear, and more. The premise—personified crayons, away and back again—is well-trammeled territory by now, after over a dozen books and spinoffs, and Jeffers once more delivers his signature cartooning and hand-lettering. Though the pages lack the laugh-out-loud sight gags and side-splittingly funny asides of previous outings, readers—especially fans of the crayons’ previous outings—will enjoy checking in on their pals.
Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9780593622360
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
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BOOK REVIEW
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