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LOBSTAH GAHDEN

Name: LOBSTAH GAHDEN
Author: Alli Brydon
ISBN: 978-1-7282-3246-1

by Alli Brydon & E.G. Keller ; illustrated by E.G. Keller ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 6, 2021

A mediocre concept poorly executed.

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When garbage lands in their potentially award-winning “gahdens,” two lobsters team up to teach the polluters a lesson.

Walter, a “proud lobstah,” tends a beautiful underwater “gahden.” He works all year long toward his dream of winning the annual “Swell Gahdens” contest, which neighbor Milton always wins. As the contest approaches, Walter finds a discarded tire in his garden, and he suspects Milton of sabotage. But Milton has found garbage in his own garden, and he thinks Walter is to blame. As towering piles of garbage overtake both gardens, Walter and Milton decide to head to the surface to see what’s going on. They discover humans tossing garbage into the ocean and make a plan to return the favor. While some readers may find the playful use of the Boston accent humorous, it is difficult to imagine working-class Bostonians not feeling like the butt of a joke. The use of the accent is inconsistent in the text (e.g., “underwater gahdening trends”), making it not only nonsensical, but difficult to read aloud. The poorly executed accent gimmick also detracts from the already-weak message about ocean conservation; the image of a few irresponsible boaters tossing trash overboard absolves the rest of us from responsibility for inadvertent pollution. The brightly colored, expressive illustrations at least make the read tolerable.

A mediocre concept poorly executed. (notes, glossary, references) (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: April 6, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-7282-3246-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore

Review Posted Online: May 4, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
BRIGHT WINTER NIGHT
by Alli Brydon ; illustrated by Ashling Lindsay

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BEST BUNNY BROTHER EVER

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Tim Bowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 6, 2026

A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note.

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Little Honey Bunny Funnybunny loves baseball almost as much as she loves her big brother P.J.—though it’s a close-run thing.

Readers familiar with the pranks P.J. plays on his younger sibling in older episodes of the series (most illustrated by Roger Bollen) will be amused—and perhaps a little confused—to see him in the role of perfect big brother after meeting his swaddled little sister for the first time in mama’s lap. But here, along with being a constant companion and “always happy to see her,” he cements his heroic status in her eyes by hitting a home run for his baseball team and then patiently teaching her how to play T-ball. After carefully coaching her and leading her through warm-up exercises, he even sits in the stands, loudly cheering her on as she scores the winning run in her own very first game. “‘You are the best brother a bunny could ever have!’” she burbles. This tale’s a tad blander compared with others centered on P.J. and his sister, but it’s undeniably cheery, with text well structured for burgeoning readers. The all-smiles animal cast in Bowers’ cartoon art features a large and diversely hued family of bunnies sporting immense floppy ears as well as a multispecies crowd of furry onlookers equally varied of color, with one spectator in a wheelchair.

A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note. (Early reader. 6-8)

Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026

ISBN: 9798217032464

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: March 17, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST
by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING SANTA CLAUS
by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis

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CHARLIE PIECHART AND THE CASE OF THE MISSING PIZZA SLICE
by Eric Comstock & Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Eric Comstock

PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

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PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

by James Dean ; illustrated by James Dean ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 18, 2018

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among

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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)