This gentle picture book offers a sweet and encouraging story for young readers.
In Chandler’s picture book, a girl with big feelings explores various ways of expressing herself.
Gabby likes to spend time in nature with animals; she also enjoys painting, singing, dancing, and just moving in simple ways that bring her joy (“I cartwheel, I twirl, I giggle in trees”). Gabby finds comfort in her support system. She knows that she is loved and thus feels empowered to stay true to herself. As she prepares to wrap up her day, Gabby climbs into her soft bed; now, she can finally rest, but not before another one of her favorite activities: storytime. Chandler’s picture book delivers a warm hug of a story, reminding readers that their voices are valuable, even if it takes them a while to find them. The book’s pictures are primarily color photographs by the author; a few of Chandler’s watercolor illustrations also appear, including one of Gabby’s window at nighttime, which provides an interesting contrast to the other images. Gabby is depicted as a pale-skinned doll with brown yarn for hair and thread for a smile. Her numerous outfits add even more variety to the story’s textures and colors. Most young readers will likely find an element of the story that resonates, whether it be the emotional throughline of Gabby’s growth or the various media used to tell the story.
This gentle picture book offers a sweet and encouraging story for young readers.Pub Date: April 30, 2026
ISBN: 9798218796198
Page Count: 36
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: June 17, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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