Stand aside, Pinocchio. There’s new whale bait in town, and she’s got her own kind of flair.
A crusty old fisherwoman and her faithful dog prepare their last rites.
Tan-skinned, white-haired Maude’s been fishing for a long time; she’s seen it all. At least, she assumes that she has, until the day she, her dog, Claude, and their “trusty little boat” are all swallowed by a whale. Ever the pragmatist, Maude attempts to stage her own farewell party, but she’s constantly interrupted by an increasing number of (recently swallowed) guests. With this cumulative tale, the unseen narrator continually must restart the ode, “Farewell Maude, a grand old dame. / Farewell Claude, sixth of his name” with additional elegies added on for a crab, an octopus, a goat, a sea lion, and a puffin. When a celebratory candle (a flare placed in the middle of a sandwich) causes the whale to sneeze and blow the whole kit and kaboodle out its blow hole, Maude treats this turn of events with the same unimpressed ennui she has every step of this adventure. A kraken-infused ending suggests future annoyances to Maude’s routine. Grandiose grump that she is, Maude and her continual interruptions are well rendered by Durst’s peppy art, which is filled with tiny details. Maude’s eyes never rise above their half-lidded skepticism, but what she lacks in joie de vivre, the accompanying animals more than make up for.
Stand aside, Pinocchio. There’s new whale bait in town, and she’s got her own kind of flair. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 30, 2026
ISBN: 9781774883617
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
The runaway cookie in this Mexican bakery is a soft, brown, stubby-tailed piglet as impertinently bold and smug in his continual escape as his Gingerbread Boy cousin. “Chase me! Chase me down the street. But this is one piggy you won’t get to eat! / ¡Córrele, córrele! ¡Y Córrele más! ¡Soy el cochinito que jamás comerás!” This bouncy dual refrain extends the familiar cumulative text, rendered in both English and Spanish, as piggy manages to elude Marta the baker, Lorenzo the mechanic, Mamá Nita the beautician, Joaquín the telephone repairman and a host of other neighborhood adults—until he is outsmarted by Rosa, a little girl on her way to school, who foxily “helps him” cross the street. Safely tucked into her backpack, piggy is both a welcome surprise and an excuse for Rosa’s lateness to class. Deep opaque acrylic paintings of a colorful barrio and its residents in pursuit add the right amount of cultural flavor to this vivid Latino retelling. Recipe appended. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Nov. 30, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-55885-586-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Piñata Books/Arte Público
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2010
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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