A rousing ode to animals who aren’t meant to be pets but instead should be admired from afar: Cheers to them.
When young Evie sees the unusual critters on display at the neighborhood pet parade, she decides that her cat Sasha just doesn’t measure up.
“I need a cool pet,” she decides. “Not a plain old cat.” Mom nixes a chinchilla and a skunk; Dad says no to a hedgehog and reminds her about Sasha, whom Evie calls “boring.” Ironically, Sasha solves Evie’s problem by drawing her attention to a garter snake in the bushes. Evie’s folks approve, and Evie learns about snakes and sets up a fine home for her new pet (dubbed Slithers). Doubts soon creep in, however, as the snake spends most of its time hiding in its enclosure. After Evie notices Slithers trying to escape, she releases it into her backyard. Evie apologizes to Sasha, who, happily, has given birth to a litter of kittens—now Evie has four entrants in the next parade! Inspired by a childhood memory of adopting—and eventually freeing—a garter snake he'd caught in a field, Sullivan offers a sweet and well-paced take on responsible pet ownership, starring a protagonist who’s keenly aware of her animals’ needs. Gibson’s colorful cartoonlike illustrations set a cheery tone; Sasha’s especially endearing, maintaining a supportive presence even as Evie’s attention is dominated by Slithers. Evie and her mother are brown-skinned, while Dad is light-skinned; their community is diverse.
A rousing ode to animals who aren’t meant to be pets but instead should be admired from afar: Cheers to them. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9781665955560
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
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
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BOOK REVIEW
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