A great example for both new kids and those welcoming them—at Halloween or for the rest of the year.
The new kid in town has more trouble than most fitting in.
Boo is new, and while it might seem as though it would be easy for a ghost to fit in among a T. Rex, a robot, a monster, and a unicorn rabbit, it isn’t. They are friendly enough and include him in the games they play, but for reasons that aren’t explicitly stated, only pictured, he has trouble. The ball bounces through him during a game of “bounce-ball.” He has no hands with which to play “pick-up twigs.” And his friends can’t feel it when he tags them. The four are an empathetic bunch and continue to try to find new games to play each time, but Boo can’t help but have a pity party as he wonders if anyone would notice if he just disappeared. But just then he notices they’ve begun a game that’s perfect for him—one that allows him to succeed and even dominate. Hooray for new friends who persevere! Clanton’s ink, pencil, watercolor, and digital illustrations employ an off-white background so readers can easily see the white-sheeted ghost. But this background changes to white when Boo is feeling sorry for himself and during the final game, emphasizing his problem, which also turns out to be his strength. Boo and his new pals are all expressive, especially the enthusiastic Rex.
A great example for both new kids and those welcoming them—at Halloween or for the rest of the year. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7636-8824-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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
BOOK REVIEW
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