A well-crafted, heartfelt narrative with lush and quirky visuals and a message of perseverance.
Rislov’s fact-based, illustrated children’s book celebrates a spirited, history-making horse.
This well-told, absorbing tale for young children and intermediate readers is based (as the author explains at the end of the book) on the real Steamboat, the horse whose bucking bronco silhouette has been on Wyoming license plates since 1936. Told with engaging immediacy and at times near-poetic resonance, Steamboat’s saga is here conveyed by a grandfather entertaining his young granddaughter Lena while the pair do chores around his ranch. Before Grandpa met the famous horse, he tells Lena, Steamboat was a rambunctious foal that “pranced and bucked from the day he was born,” running free on a ranch “in the endless sage-colored fields and under the big, blue sky.” Sadly, when Steamboat was 3 years old, “his golden mornings, rich wildflower scents, and the sound of coyote baying at the moon came to an end.” Sold to a cattle ranch where he is corralled and mistreated, the young horse gets his name due to his angry snort when he’d buck off the mean ranch hands who tried to break him. (Grandpa says that he attended a rodeo where every would-be rider hit the ground as “Steamboat’s eyes would flash, his mane would rise like a wind gust, and his legs would disappear in a cloud of dust.”) Clearly, Steamboat loved to buck, but Grandpa saw a free spirit in danger of being crushed by the unfeeling ranch hands; he bought the horse, took him home, and gave him the nurturing he needed to become “the bronc he was born to be,” famous as “the horse that couldn’t be rode.” This colorful tale is an inspired collaboration between prolific children’s author Rislov and noted illustrator Pullen, who teamed up previously on Rislov’s Western-themed books Rowdy Randy (2019) and The Rowdy Randy Wild West Show (2022). Pullen’s full-page, painted illustrations are both strikingly realistic (in the anatomy of horses and cattle, the beautiful big-sky landscapes, and meticulously rendered folds in clothing) and fanciful; the human characters have oversized heads and exaggerated facial features.
A well-crafted, heartfelt narrative with lush and quirky visuals and a message of perseverance.Pub Date: April 15, 2025
ISBN: 9798218398620
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Mountain Stars Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 6, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Visually sweet, though hampered by disjointed storytelling.
In this picture book from Fox News journalist Hall, a young hedgehog must find a way to protect his community when peril looms.
Hedgehog and his father both have busy days ahead. Dad’s on his way to the newspaper to report “what new news the news brings.” Hedgehog packs his backpack for an adventure, mindful of Dad’s rules: “Don’t talk to strangers” and “never ever cross the river alone.” Obeying the rules proves difficult when Hedgehog notices commotion on the other side of the river: A bear is hungrily eyeing Baby Owl, who’s fallen from her tree. With creative thinking, Hedgehog frightens off the bear and alerts Mama Owl, but the predator is still at large. So Hedgehog and Mama Owl create flyers to warn the forest residents. Though Motzo’s airy illustrations are pleasing—particularly the adorably animated Hedgehog, a tribute to Hall’s own children—the narrative feels bogged down with multiple themes as it attempts to explore the power of the written word, the importance of community, and the need to adhere to a parent’s rules. When Hedgehog apologizes for his apparent disobedience, Dad explains that Hedgehog never actually broke the rules; turns out it’s OK to cross the river in the company of an adult, and Mama Owl’s no stranger (she’s the town librarian, whom Hedgehog sees every week). The back-and-forth may leave readers confused; it also feels like a missed opportunity to discuss how to identify trustworthy adults.
Visually sweet, though hampered by disjointed storytelling. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 3, 2026
ISBN: 9780063357549
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
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