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EVEN STEVEN

Name: EVEN STEVEN
Author: Carrie Finison
ISBN: 9780593859001

A BOOK ABOUT SHARING

by Carrie Finison ; illustrated by Daniel Wiseman ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 14, 2026

Superb conversation starters for youngsters who fret about fairness—in other words, all kids.

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Following Don’t Hug Doug (2021), Finison and Wiseman’s latest explores a familiar challenge through the eyes of a child.

Steven loves to share, and he wants everything to be divided equally. Unfortunately, not all objects can be broken in two like a cookie or passed around like a jar of pickles. You certainly can’t split a nickel, sharing a lollipop among lickers really isn’t advised, and a book absolutely shouldn’t be destroyed so that everyone gets the same number of pages. Equal can mean taking turns, like on the playground slide. Equal can mean working in tandem, like a group of kids playing together with a shared set of blocks. But sometimes equal isn’t fair—everyone might get a turn at the same bicycle, but it won’t fit every kid. Thankfully, flexibility leads to a fun solution when Steven and his friends jump on skateboards and tricycles and don roller skates to ride together. The final few pages present readers with a puzzle: how to share everything from a hula hoop to the planet. Finison and Wiseman present a surprisingly complex subject in a way that’s fresh, fun, and entirely creative. An excellent catalyst for classroom discussions, the book is sure to provoke giggles while getting kids to consider equity in an age-appropriate way—no mean feat. In Wiseman’s agreeably chaotic cartoon art, Steven is tan-skinned and red-haired; his friends are diverse.

Superb conversation starters for youngsters who fret about fairness—in other words, all kids. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: April 14, 2026

ISBN: 9780593859001

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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PLENTY OF PANCAKES
by Carrie Finison ; illustrated by Brianne Farley

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PIGS DIG A ROAD
by Carrie Finison ; illustrated by Brian Biggs

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HURRY, LITTLE TORTOISE, TIME FOR SCHOOL!
by Carrie Finison ; illustrated by Erin Kraan

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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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)