A sly seasonal pick for kids craving a dash of agency alongside their dress-up.
A precocious child conjures up a startling alternative to the cutesy costumes of Halloweens past.
“Last year I was a bunny. The year before that I was a mouse.” Indignant after a string of “utterly adorable” Halloween costumes, a rosy-cheeked, black-haired girl with skin the white of the page declares, “My days of adorable are over and done! Because…this year, a witch!” Readers are privy to the process as the impish and expressive witch fully embraces her role. She’s “enlisted the help of an assistant” (her cat) and has been busy “whipping up spells and collecting things for my brew.” Witches are powerful—look out, or she’ll turn you to stone!—and exceedingly independent. As she says, “Witches don’t need their lovies. Or daddies. Or naps,” though a patient grown-up proves helpful with mundane tasks like costume-sewing. Multimedia and Risograph illustrations make magical use of both generous white space and full-bleed spreads and feature vibrant pops of modern Halloween hues, including violet and acidic green. Playfully paced page turns reveal a visual transformation more frightening than even the young witch bargains for, but concise text with emphatic typography keeps the theatrical tone kind-spirited; Abbott perfectly captures youngsters’ often-warring desires for autonomy and reassurance.
A sly seasonal pick for kids craving a dash of agency alongside their dress-up. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 15, 2025
ISBN: 9781665956024
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
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