A touching if slightly puzzling picture book about making new friends.
On his first day of school, Denny makes friends in an unexpected way in this picture book from Cooke.
White-skinned, blond-haired Denny is excited for the first day of school, but he can’t shake his nerves because he doesn’t know anyone. His school seems warm and welcoming with its decorated lockers and play areas, but when he sits down in his new classroom, he still feels apprehensive. Denny’s teacher, Ms. Beasley, walks up to him and asks if she can take a loose eyelash resting on his cheek. “Denny, if you close your eyes and think of a wish really fast, you can make it come true with a big blow on your eyelash.” Ms. Beasley encourages the class to guess what Denny’s wish is, a task that they enthusiastically take up. His seatmate Jenny guesses that he wished for a puppy, Ashley thinks it’s a guitar, and Darin is sure he wished for baseball gear. Each conversation prompts a few moments of camaraderie that makes Denny feel increasingly at home in his new classroom. His wish, which he reveals at the end, really does come true. Cooke’s “reimagined” release of her 2018 picture book is a thoughtful tale of friendship. While it seems odd for Ms. Beasley, an adult, to request an eyelash from a child she barely knows, the process through which Denny makes new friends is natural and creative. Rabito’s gentle, rosy-cheeked illustrations feature children of a variety of skin tones and physical abilities in Denny’s class.
A touching if slightly puzzling picture book about making new friends.Pub Date: June 13, 2025
ISBN: 9781732673144
Page Count: 34
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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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
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