A heartwarming lesson about kindness, empathy, and self-worth that rushes toward resolution.
Bower uses the concept of auras to explore emotions in this illustrated children’s book.
A girl named Sophie wakes up on her seventh birthday to find a “magical and friendly” fairylike figure at the end of her bed. The sprite introduces herself as Zoe, Sophie’s spirit guide. Zoe explains that she has always watched over Sophie and guided her decisions; now, Sophie has been gifted “second sight,” allowing her to see Zoe and learn from her. When Sophie starts second grade at a new school, she is concerned about making new friends. Zoe reminds her that “true friends will see the beauty that shines from within you, just like I do.” Sophie feels inferior to another new student, Jessica, whom Sophie believes is more attractive. However, Jessica soon loses popularity with her classmates after some name-calling and cheating during a dodgeball game. When Sophie tries to talk to Jessica about her behavior, Jessica insults Sophie and leaves her in tears. Zoe appears and teaches Sophie about auras, the invisible energy that reflects a person’s feelings. Sophie’s aura is the “brightest, clearest” purple, while Jessica’s is a “dull gray.” Zoe informs Sophie that auras can change when someone is kind and generous. Sophie again approaches Jessica and tells her that it’s not outward beauty but kindness that attracts friends. As they talk, Jessica’s aura turns blue. Over time, as Jessica acts kindly towards others, her aura changes to purple. Zoe concludes, “It doesn’t matter how you shine on the outside, but rather what shines from the inside.” Bower’s storytelling effectively combines the relatable challenges of starting a new school and making friends with the mystical elements of a spirit guide and aura reading—using the visual aspect of auras is a unique way to help children understand and communicate about emotions. Mo’s digital artwork uses soft, glowing hues to enhance the otherworldly nature of the story, while clear, recognizable facial expressions clue readers to the characters’ emotions. However, Jessica’s rapid transformation sets unrealistic expectations for behavioral change.
A heartwarming lesson about kindness, empathy, and self-worth that rushes toward resolution.Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2025
ISBN: 9781779623423
Page Count: 46
Publisher: Tellwell Talent
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.
Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.
This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-93809-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
