A joyful, nuanced book that encourages STEAM problem-solving skills.
A slew of problems at the beach are no match for artist and inventor Amelia in Odusanya’s illustrated children’s book.
Amelia loves to make art anywhere,with anything she can find. She approaches a family trip to the beach as a big opportunity to be creative, but obstacles seem to keep popping up. When she arrives at the shore, she immediately scouts out “loose parts,” such as shells and seaweed lying on the ground. She also finds a robin’s egg, tucked under a leaf. The nest from which it fell is too high for her to reach, and she’s worried she can’t help. “Maybe so,” her father says, “but ideas are inside of you, and solutions are all around you. You just have to find them.” Encouraged, Amelia builds a nest of her own for the egg. Before she can get back to her original creative mission, she finds a fish trapped in an apparent tidal pool. Careful planning and positive self-talk lead her to dig a canal lined with rocks for the fish to swim back into the ocean. Finally, as Amelia prepares to relax, a boy needs help building a sandcastle. The two children work together to build a delightful structure until it’s time to return home, but that doesn’t stop Amelia from bringing a little bit of the beach back with her. Odusanya’s second installment in the Amelia’s Loose Part Art series, after its eponymous debut in 2023, effectively models basic problem-solving and social-emotional skills in a setting involving science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math (STEAM). Amelia’s insecurities and her passion for her art are relatable, and she provides tongue-in-cheek names for her creations, such as “Follow the Rocky Brick Road.” Medonza’s brightly colored cartoon illustrations are fully integrated with the text and work well together, much like Amelia and the boy that she befriends. The images portray Amelia with tan skin and curly brown hair; other characters have a range of skin tones. Instructions for various creative activities are included at the book’s end.
A joyful, nuanced book that encourages STEAM problem-solving skills.Pub Date: April 8, 2025
ISBN: 9781739007041
Page Count: -
Publisher: Sunshine and Rain Co.
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Toad and Little Blue Truck get ready for a hayride.
After the titular vehicle is loaded with hay, Toad is nowhere to be found. “Beep! Beep! Beep! Where are you, Toad?” asks Little Blue Truck. All the barnyard animals look for him. Sheep searches the meadow. Goose and Duck check the pond. Others pitch in, too, but Toad seems to have disappeared…until Hen hears snoring coming from the pile of hay in the back of Little Blue Truck. Although the text’s scansion is imperfect in places (adults may want to pre-read to ensure a smooth read-aloud), the bouncy meter and rhyming text nevertheless capture the energy of the search and the farmyard community’s concern for Toad’s safety, making this a solid storytime choice. Eye-catching illustrations with rich, fully saturated colors balance the right level of detail while still highlighting the animal that is the focus of each verse. By introducing one farm animal at a time, Schertle also helps the youngest readers begin to identify barnyard animals by name and understand their unique farm homes. Traditional animal sounds are part of the text, and listeners will add them to their vocabulary. It all ends with the promised hayride, bringing the tale to a joyous ending.
Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2026
ISBN: 9780063436121
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.
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: Aug. 11, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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