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IN THIS CLASSROOM

Name: IN THIS CLASSROOM
Author: Andrew Hacket
ISBN: 9781636551814

by Andrew Hacket ; illustrated by Arthur Lin ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2026

Comforting for the timid, empowering for the anxious, affirming for students and teachers alike.

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Every group of students is special.

“In this classroom,” begins each line of Hacket’s gentle list, serving as both promise and invitation at the beginning of a school year. “There is room for everyone,” declares the narrator. “We will be imperfect....This is how we’ll learn.” Illustrator Lin’s lively students, 10 vividly colored shapes with arms, legs, and animated faces, are set against a grayscale backdrop—tables and desks, a chalkboard, a playground. Some of the youngsters have worried looks, others enthusiastic ones. They are recognizable as individuals, lending an endearing thread of story to the narrative: “We will disagree. Because our opinions are beautifully different. Unique like our bodies, our names, our beliefs.” The bright blue teacher is taller than the rest and sports a tie, a mop of purple hair, glasses, and a friendly expression. The language is respectful, pitched to young listeners, who will be able to understand and remember the implicit reassurance of community as well as the concrete expectation of success; little ones will also see themselves in at least one of the colorful characters. An author’s note provides suggestions for teachers on ways to use the book. This offering will be great for classroom use as well as for children wondering about an upcoming school experience.

Comforting for the timid, empowering for the anxious, affirming for students and teachers alike. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: June 9, 2026

ISBN: 9781636551814

Page Count: 52

Publisher: Red Comet Press

Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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THE PUMPKIN THIEF

From the Leaf Thief series

by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 28, 2026

More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.

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Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.

Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.

More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: July 28, 2026

ISBN: 9781464268076

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Review Posted Online: today

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SUN THIEF
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SNOW THIEF
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BISON AND THE BUTTERFLY
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nancy Leschnikoff

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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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)