A sweetly articulated and socially valuable message for readers of many ages.
Castillo’s debut employs a playful metaphor to explore socioemotional skills, addressing readers directly with tender, encouraging language.
Minimalist, lightly textured ink-and-watercolor illustrations depict adorably blobby humanoid figures wearing hooded bodysuits in a range of colors. The primary figure, a short blob, has round red cheeks and wears what looks like a red, hooded snowsuit. Each figure has round black eyes and a red dot of a nose on a white face while ink linework carefully denotes the figures’ expressions so that even the youngest readers may decipher them. The accompanying text uses “ping” to explain and promote each figure’s ownership of their feelings and actions, while “pong” clearly and simply demonstrates that one cannot control others—one can only control one’s response to others. “Time to listen! The pong is giving you something // Is it something to learn? / Something to think about? / … / Something to challenge you? / Something to keep?” While most spreads have plain white (usually) or black backgrounds, one spread depicting “taking a pause” after receiving a “pong” utilizes a richly illustrated page of lush green leaves to illustrate how the pause can be “as long as you need.” Overall, the book’s design and deliberate pacing support its message; however, much of the text is printed in an unnecessarily large font that competes with, rather than complementing, the illustrations. This is most problematic in several visually busy spreads that include text in multiple point sizes, “pinging” unevenly from one spot illustration to the next.
A sweetly articulated and socially valuable message for readers of many ages. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-316-42464-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Megan Tingley/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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
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
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