A gentle, encouraging tale of determination and difference.
Uno the one-legged spider is determined to take part in the big race in the Huddlestons’ graphic novel for young readers.
Every year, Uno the spider’s town of Gleewood Glen hosts multiple races for its residents. The upcoming big race is “my favorite race of the year,” he tells his mom, “mainly because I have the best chance of winning this one.” There’s just one problem: He needs a new shoe for his single foot. Unfortunately, Uno’s mom isn’t able to provide him with what he needs, because his eight-legged younger brother has worn out his footwear, and she can’t afford to shoe both of them. This puts a damper on Uno’s plans, but he maintains his optimism—until he comes home from school to discover that disaster has struck: His pet ant has eaten his one remaining shoe. Uno’s mom then suggests that he look for odd jobs around town to earn money for sneakers. He approaches local tradespeople, offering to help in their shops. He begins working at the bakery, milling flour, doing the marketing, and sweeping the floor. After he receives his payment, he moves on to the pet shop, and then the local restaurant. The shoe store is Uno’s last stop, but he finds he still doesn’t have enough to pay for his new sneaker—he’ll need to come up with a solution quickly if he wants to make it in time for the starting whistle. This graphic novel successfully creates a simple but charming world, with log-shaped school buses and Techno Termite trading cards, an inclusive place that offers opportunities to characters with different body types. Uno may only have one leg, but in his world, this doesn’t appear to be a disability—it’s just another part of his life. The stakes do feel low in the story; while the race is very important to Uno, it never seems like he won’t be able to fulfill his goal. Courtney Huddleston’s colorful illustrations are reminiscent of an animated children’s television show.
A gentle, encouraging tale of determination and difference.Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9798988888703
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Readers Huddle
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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