This low-key adventure is a pleasant diversion that effectively capitalizes on the appeal of timeless tales.
Artful illustrations, clever text, and echoes of traditional tales combine to elevate this somewhat familiar story of an intrepid young boar.
Allusions to folktales abound, from the opening (“Once upon a time”) to admonishments to beware of the Big Bad Wolf and to “stick to the path.” Perhaps the most charming and subtle connection is the unremarked-upon appearance of a frog sporting a small crown. Hogbert, our hero, has a rounded body, a sweet smile, and chipmunk-style stripes. Savvy listeners won’t be too surprised when Hogbert follows his snout and becomes separated from his family when the piglets explore the woods for the first time. Luckily, he soon finds some equally engaging companions, from Red, a squirrel on her way to visit her granny (hmm, sounds familiar), to a pair of lost rabbits named Hopsel and Nettle. Together the animals, who can speak but otherwise act in species-appropriate ways, journey through the forest and manage to evade a (not very big and apparently also lost) wolf cub. Smith’s relatively lengthy third-person narration flows smoothly and features a variety of evocative words and phrases, along with a bit of unexpected but particularly apt slang. “Smell you later!” is Hogbert’s farewell to his new friend Red. The skilled depiction of the sylvan setting includes lovely flowers, towering trees, and constantly shifting light and shadow.
This low-key adventure is a pleasant diversion that effectively capitalizes on the appeal of timeless tales. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781536245035
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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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
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