An endearingly heart-melting reminder of the lifesaving power of unlikely friendships.
Feathery and furry friends find safety together during a snowstorm.
With the “first big snow” looming, the woodland creatures cozily snuggle up into their homes. Except for little Chickadee, alone in the open meadow, “curled up in a tight ball to keep warm.” A gaggle of geese delay their trip south to help (“Oh goodness….You look so cold. Maybe we can help you keep warm”), and they settle in to cuddle little Chickadee. When the geese start to shiver, a passing fox wraps his fluffed-up tail around the gaggle. The heavy snow only gets heavier, but a bear provides a big protective ursine hug for all. And yet even her bulk is no match for the wind gusts that push the huddled friends down the hill, transforming their mass into a “bigger and bigger snowball.” As they crawl out from the snowball the next morning—“All clear!”—what’s left is a home of Chickadee’s own: an igloo, with plenty of room to share. Ha’s gratifying tale highlights selfless intentions with heartfelt rewards, while her gentle watercolors, soothing in predominantly blues and browns, softly emphasizes unexpected kindness. She’s particularly adept at capturing the expressive animals’ initially tentative, then unwavering, resolve to help. A glimpse into Chickadee’s glowing home, with hanging snowflakes and framed picture, proves particularly moving.
An endearingly heart-melting reminder of the lifesaving power of unlikely friendships. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9780063315488
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
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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
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
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)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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