Willy Nilly is no Epaminondas in this cartoonish, contemporary version of the old classic. When Willy Nilly’s mom sends him to buy cabbage for dinner, he says, “YUK!” She retorts, “No, you must say YUM, YUM, WHAT A LOVELY DINNER.” On his way to the store, Willy Nilly says exactly that to the garbage man who advises him to say “GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD GARBAGE,” which Willy Nilly then repeats to the neighbors moving away. Willy Nilly proceeds to misapply the comment from each person he meets to the next one; the park keeper, a parrot, Granny Macaroon, a window cleaner and finally to a baby reaching for a tower of cans in the grocery: “HEY, LOOK OUT!” bringing things full circle. Each time Willy Nilly is admonished and given a new reply, he says, “GOT IT!” in large type like the responses. Colorful, exaggerated illustrations play up the absurdity, especially the white marble-eyed people and Willy Nilly with cauliflower ears and large head in his shorts, socks and sandals. This modern spin lacks the charm of previous versions, making this moderately silly variation only for those who haven’t heard the original. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2005
ISBN: 1-56148-488-1
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Good Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2005
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
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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