A lighthearted look at common fears and the rewards of bravery.
What will it take to get a frightened mole to leave his burrow?
Mole wasn’t always afraid, but when he’s out for a stroll one day, a thunderstorm sends him underground for good. His concerned friends attempt to cajole him out. Squirrel asks if he wants to help her gather nuts, but Mole refuses: “A tree is sure to fall on me and break my paw!” Following Bear’s invitation to swim, Mole envisions an aggressive shark approaching. After each entreaty, the protagonist conveys his intentions to remain safe. Young listeners will soon be chanting along with his response: “I said no! There are too many dangerous things out there. I’m better off staying safe and sound in my burrow.” Ultimately, the friends concoct a scheme. They call for help, describing an attack from “STINKY-FOOTED ALIENS” and “UNIDENTIFIED FLYING BUTTS.” When the cautious Mole crawls out to help, he’s greeted with a birthday party in his honor as he realizes that too much worrying leads to missing out on fun. Children will enjoy the characters’ silly postures, the outlandish scenarios, and the potty humor. The bright palette plays out in a variety of layouts, each used effectively: sequential panels to show the time it takes for Mole to reach home, a cross-section to depict the burrow’s elaborate plumbing, a full-bleed double spread to convey the joyful celebration. The dynamic design tempers the repetitive structure of the narrative, translated from Spanish.
A lighthearted look at common fears and the rewards of bravery. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9788410406506
Page Count: 40
Publisher: NubeOcho
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
The runaway cookie in this Mexican bakery is a soft, brown, stubby-tailed piglet as impertinently bold and smug in his continual escape as his Gingerbread Boy cousin. “Chase me! Chase me down the street. But this is one piggy you won’t get to eat! / ¡Córrele, córrele! ¡Y Córrele más! ¡Soy el cochinito que jamás comerás!” This bouncy dual refrain extends the familiar cumulative text, rendered in both English and Spanish, as piggy manages to elude Marta the baker, Lorenzo the mechanic, Mamá Nita the beautician, Joaquín the telephone repairman and a host of other neighborhood adults—until he is outsmarted by Rosa, a little girl on her way to school, who foxily “helps him” cross the street. Safely tucked into her backpack, piggy is both a welcome surprise and an excuse for Rosa’s lateness to class. Deep opaque acrylic paintings of a colorful barrio and its residents in pursuit add the right amount of cultural flavor to this vivid Latino retelling. Recipe appended. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Nov. 30, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-55885-586-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Piñata Books/Arte Público
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2010
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