Next book

ONE SUMMER NIGHT

A sweet story with an environmental message.

Sea turtle hatchlings follow moonlight to find their ocean homes, but what happens if clouds get in the way?

In rhyming couplets, Salzano imagines the scenario: a dark, stormy night and hatchlings confused by a porch light. Luckily, in this community, there are turtle watchers to help. The porch light goes off; people line the beach to make a passage; and a bespectacled, slicker-clad girl with a flashlight guides the young turtles to the waiting waves, where they will be safe—at least from the threatening gulls. Basic facts about sea turtle emergence are woven into the narrative along with the anthropomorphic fantasy that a turtle might wave a flipper to lead the way or to say thanks to the helping humans. The language includes some evocative action verbs, but the rhythm of these couplets stumbles, with the expected stress sometimes falling on unimportant words. Sayegh’s cheerful illustrations are composed of clean shapes and interesting textures. The turtles have googly eyes and open-mouthed smiles. The flashlight-wielding girl has brown skin; the other humans have varying skin tones. Four supplementary pages, illustrated with actual photographs, introduce sea turtle species, summarize the hatching process, and suggest other ways humans can help. Philippe Cousteau and Deborah Hopkinson’s Follow the Moon Home, illustrated by Meilo So (2016), offers much of the same information but for a slightly older audience. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A sweet story with an environmental message. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: May 28, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-4788-7033-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Reycraft Books

Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021

Next book

CARPENTER'S HELPER

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Awards & Accolades

Likes

  • Readers Vote
  • 24


Our Verdict

  • Our Verdict
  • GET IT


  • New York Times Bestseller

Next book

THE WILD ROBOT ON THE ISLAND

A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.

Awards & Accolades

Likes

  • Readers Vote
  • 24


Our Verdict

  • Our Verdict
  • GET IT


  • New York Times Bestseller

What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?

“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.

A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: June 24, 2025

ISBN: 9780316669467

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025

Close Quickview