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UNSTOPPABLE

Name: UNSTOPPABLE
Author: Adam Rex
ISBN: 978-1-4521-6504-2

by Adam Rex ; illustrated by Laura Park ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 5, 2020

The power of teamwork becomes the people’s power, all wrapped in a cheerful romp.

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Collaboration is the key to success in this picture book.

The story enticingly begins with five double-page spreads, wordless except for onomatopoeia, as a cat leaps at a big-eyed crab sitting on a rock and the crab pinches back. The cat flees and leaps after a small bird next, who flies away with a startled “AAAH!” The illustrations, done in a collagelike style that combines simple shapes, deftly play with visual sequencing and wonderfully expressive characters to cleverly set up the story. After the bird lands near the crab, the text begins, with the crab waxing poetic: “Oh! If only I might escape this life of muddy scuttling and fly.” To which the bird replies, in a surfer-dude tone (the distinct voices of each character are a joy), that it wishes for “big, snapping claws” in order to “pinch that cat on the nose.” The two have an epiphany: combine forces and become “crabbird!” The illustration shows the bird clutching the crab as they fly through the air. The combinations don’t stop, and “crabbird!” becomes “craburtlebird!” and “birdraburtlebear!” as they pick up a turtle and a bear to become even more “UNSTOPPABLE!” Or so they think—until they spy bulldozers clearing their forest home for a shopping mall. Fear not! The power of cooperation reaches its zenith in a satisfying, high-spirited conclusion (that includes illustrated human diversity, most notably in the form of a president who’s a woman of color and a vigorously multiracial Congress).

The power of teamwork becomes the people’s power, all wrapped in a cheerful romp. (Picture book. 3-8)

Pub Date: May 5, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-4521-6504-2

Page Count: 56

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
TODAY IS THE DAY
by Chelsea Lin Wallace ; illustrated by Adam Rex

- BOOK REVIEW
THE 13TH DAY OF CHRISTMAS
by Adam Rex ; illustrated by Adam Rex

- BOOK REVIEW
THE STORY OF GUMLUCK AND THE HEROES
by Adam Rex ; illustrated by Adam Rex

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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THE PUMPKIN THIEF

From the Leaf Thief series

by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 28, 2026

More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.

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Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.

Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.

More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)