Merrily edifying.
Explore the ABCs from axolotl to zapata.
Incorporating words in Spanish, Nahuatl, Mayan, and languages from other Mesoamerican cultures, Valtierra’s idiosyncratic alphabetical walkthrough invites readers to engage with the sounds and images found therein. Broadly familiar words such as chocolate, guacamole, and jaguar mingle alongside potentially lesser-known ones, like the active stratovolcano Popocatépetl, the Wixárika people, and yollotl, a Nahuatl word meaning heart. Short, upbeat verses in both English and Spanish accompany each word, generally mirroring each other in mood and tone. Different meanings often emerge between the two verse forms nonetheless, making them more easily accessible to bilingual readers. Valtierra maintains a pleasant cadence from verse to verse thanks to an evenhanded approach, ranging from softly deferential—such as her ode to the Quetzalcoatl (“The Aztecs knew him, kind and true, / With beautiful feathers, green and blue”)—to dizzily humorous, like his entry on a bundle of food known as itacate to take on a journey, which can include “tamales, tacos, anything delicious, / Don’t eat too much or you’ll feel nauseous!” Pronunciation boxes also supplement the concepts and mythological figures showcased in the story. Of course, the occasional word might pose a challenge to readers—for instance, the courageous god of war, Huitzilopochtli (“wee tsee loh POHCH tlee”)—but overall, this alphabet chronicle shares its enthusiasm for language rather generously. Employing an Aztec codex style, the artist injects an anarchic spirit into his colorful artwork.
Merrily edifying. (author’s note, pronunciations and etymology, information on glyphs, QR code linking to more information on the words and artwork) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9781646145676
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Levine Querido
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
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
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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