Demonstrates the courage of following your heart.
Big feelings call for a big valentine.
Bobby, a tan-skinned youngster with round spectacles, is smitten with his best friend, Eddie, a brown-skinned boy with a gap-toothed smile. Bobby and Eddie are inseparable. They ride bikes, they bake cookies, and for Halloween they even dress up together as a knight and prince. For Valentine’s Day, Bobby wants to show Eddie how much he means to him with a very special card. He has some pretty bold criteria: “The card would have to be colorful…and sparkly…and BIG! As big as Bobby’s heart felt when they were together.” Bobby creates a large heart cutout with many layers of meaning (and many layers of glue). Along the way, he has flashes of insecurity but also strong moments of resolve. “He [has] to believe that Eddie [will] always be by his side.” When the pair meet at school, Eddie has an equally large card for Bobby. In an explosion of hearts, rainbows, butterflies, and sparkles—along with the biggest, most joyful smiles on the two tots’ faces—Bobby and Eddie show the world their true feelings. Woitas expertly charts the quiet but potent dramas that Bobby experiences, while Sonda’s art—which turns delightfully childlike for images of the card—sets a gentle tone. This is a charming queer read-aloud, ideal for Valentine’s Day or at any time of year.
Demonstrates the courage of following your heart. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Dec. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9780593659779
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2024
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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