Skip—skinned knees should be the only elementary school drama.
A first-grade love story with a woodchuck as a go-between. Really.
Other kids bring a ukulele, a sombrero, a feather, or a tadpole to show and tell. Not Chuck. He brings Woodchuck to class, and the guest rodent entertains everyone to such an extent that he becomes a permanent fixture in the classroom. Woodchuck is especially friendly to Caroline, the first-person narrator, a brunette who wears glasses. On a cold, windy day, Woodchuck delivers a hat for her to wear that looks suspiciously like Chuck’s. And when she drops her cupcake, Woodchuck is there with another: Chuck’s. The rodent-mediated sweetness continues throughout the school year, until Chuck finally works up the courage to ask her if he and Woodchuck might walk her home, the final spread showing the three of them holding hands, Woodchuck in the middle. While kids will undoubtedly find Woodchuck’s antics cool, this is otherwise a very odd picture book—a love story involving 6-year-olds. They don’t play together, and Chuck isn’t protecting his ladylove from bullies or standing up for her, making this story about as far from first-grade reality as it can get (besides the genius mammal). Bell’s ink-and-digital cartoon illustrations depict blocky characters with not much facial expression, excepting Woodchuck, who rather steals the show. Both main characters are white, though there is a bit of diversity in the school.
Skip—skinned knees should be the only elementary school drama. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: March 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7524-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
A charming tale of an athlete who may not steal any bases but who will certainly steal readers’ hearts.
Ohtani, pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, teams up with Blank and Liem to tell the story of how his dog, Decoy, threw out a ceremonial first pitch.
It’s a big day! Decoy leaps “off the bed. Then back onto the bed. Then off the bed.” The enthusiastic pup heads outside to practice with his lucky baseball but is quickly distracted by squirrels (“we’ll play later!”), airplanes (“flyin’ high!”), and flowers (“smell ya soon!”). Dog and pitcher then head to the ballpark. In the locker room, Decoy high-paws Shohei’s teammates. It’s nearly time! But as Shohei prepares to warm up, Decoy realizes that he’s forgotten something important: his lucky ball. Without it, there will be “no championships, no parades, and no hot dogs!” Back home he goes, returning just in time. With Shohei at the plate, Decoy runs from the mound to his owner, rolling the ball into Shohei’s mitt for a “Striiiiike!” Related from a dog’s point of view, Ohtani and Blank’s energetic text lends the tale a sense of urgency and suspense. Liem’s illustrations capture the excitement of the first day of baseball season and the joys of locker room camaraderie, as well as Shohei and Decoy’s mutual affection—even when the ball is drenched in slobber, Shohei’s love for his pet shines through, and clearly, Decoy is focused when it matters.
A charming tale of an athlete who may not steal any bases but who will certainly steal readers’ hearts. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9780063460775
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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