A sweet, warm tale of spiritual growth, patience, and perseverance.
Eager to fast all day and pray late at night, a young girl learns lessons in mindfulness during Ramadan.
On the first day of the Muslim month of prayer and reflection, Habeeba beams at the festive decorations and platters of delicious food around her house. Aspiring to be just like her big sister, Sumaya, she declares, “This year, I am fasting every day and staying up for taraweeh” (night prayers). But as the month goes on, Habeeba becomes discouraged. Although she fasts most of each day, she stops early, with a rumbly tummy tempted by foods like Baba’s cheesy, syrupy kunafa. Habeeba tries to stay awake for taraweeh, but she drifts off to sleep at the soothing sounds of the mosque. Are there other ways Habeeba can celebrate Ramadan? Khalil shares a heartwarming tale of family as Habeeba learns about the importance of practicing mindfulness and giving back to the community. Kheiriyeh captures the spirit of Ramadan with her brightly hued mixed-media depictions of Habeeba’s home, bustling with preparations of the meals that start and end the fasting day as well as the spirituality of the nightly prayer rituals in the mosque. Ample backmatter offers more information about this important pillar of Islam, as well as instructions for creating Ramadan-themed crafts. Habeeba and her family are brown-skinned; clues in the text suggest that they are of Egyptian heritage.
A sweet, warm tale of spiritual growth, patience, and perseverance. (glossary of Arabic words, selected sources) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2026
ISBN: 9780316577441
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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