A tender story of finding wonder in the world, in oneself, and others.
From author/illustrator Sano, an unusually colored, anthropomorphized zebra struggles to fit in at her new school.
In a world full of humbug-colored zebras, Peppermint has the red stripes of a candy cane. Her Mama encourages her to walk tall and proud, but as the only red-striped zebra at her new school, she feels out of place. She slouches and drags her hooves, which attracts the attention of bullies. Peppermint is very lonely, and yet, outside of school, she demonstrates a wonderful acuity in finding and appreciating uniqueness: a wildflower growing from a crack in a rock; a cloud shaped like a fish; a yoga-posed carrot and a heart-shaped apple. In art class one day, Peppermint feels so isolated, she paints her stripes black to fit in. This, however, only leads to further humiliation…and danger when, sobbing, she runs away down to the plains where the lions roam. Luckily for Peppermint, her purple ribbon–wearing classmate, Zophia, comes to her rescue. From then on, Peppermint and Zophia become best friends. Peppermint does walk tall and proud, and the bullies leave her alone. Peppermint’s tale follows a predictable arc, narrated in straightforward text but with engaging illustrations. Sano combines minimal ink outlines with complex watercolor hues: pastel purples for Peppermint’s feelings; brighter, adjacent colors for the outdoors, wonderous discoveries, and the happy childhood she stands apart from. Through subtle shifts and juxtapositions, Sano, whose previous book was Martie Merganser and the Big Waterfall (2022), captures the uneasy balance that exists between the natural world and the emotional landscape humans map onto it. Zophia’s befriending of Peppermint comes out of the blue, but a closer examination of the preceding pages reveals that this development is no deus ex machina. The relationship—at least from Zophia’s side—is presaged in her art class painting (of Peppermint), and in several scenes prior to that when Zophia, herself a loner, is shown in the background, too shy to approach. Peppermint, like the reader, was just too caught up in her own problems to notice! Such finesses repay multiple readings and make for a beautiful learning experience.
A tender story of finding wonder in the world, in oneself, and others.Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9781633814448
Page Count: 42
Publisher: Maine Authors Publishing
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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