An amusing, empowering story about conquering nighttime fears.
A young pup needs to use the bathroom, but someone’s already on the toilet!
Even though Jojo is scared of the ogre who comes out at night, a full bladder is keeping the little dog from sleeping. So, armed with a toy sword, Jojo opens the bathroom door and confronts the ogre, who turns out to have a tummy ache. The ogre likes Jojo’s bathroom because it has a light (unlike his own). The ogre needs to wash his hands in Jojo’s other bathroom (the first bathroom apparently lacks a sink), but he’s scared of the octopus who lives there, so Jojo accompanies him. That octopus is herself afraid of the crocodiles in the hall, and they in turn are terrified of the ogre. And Jojo still needs to pee! The bright colors and cute concept make this French import an appealing read for young children, who’ll be empowered to face the dark on their own trips to the bathroom at night. Jojo veers between resembling a dog and a kangaroo throughout, and it doesn’t make a lot of sense that the first “monster” Jojo encounters is a literal ogre while the rest are animals like Jojo. But the conclusion to the potty emergency will leave both Jojo and readers satisfied even if the penultimate joke falls a little flat. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An amusing, empowering story about conquering nighttime fears. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2023
ISBN: 9781662640520
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Hippo Park/Astra Books for Young Readers
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
A spooky house tour, unafraid to redefine what board books are capable of achieving.
Preschoolers, get ready for your first official ghost story.
“There is nobody in this house. There used to be somebody. But there is nobody now.” But is that true? As readers turn the pages of this board book, they pass through an array of rooms. In one, a ghost stands clearly to one side, the unseen narrator pointedly making no mention of it. As the narrative progressives, the ghost continues to peep from within (revealed through cleverly placed die-cuts), never acknowledged, always watching. The effect is both amusing and unnerving—in other words, classic Klassen. For some youngsters, the narrator’s refusal to mention the ghost will be a source of humor (and a chance to yell at the book). For others, it will be just the right amount of creepy, perhaps causing some to question whether a ghost truly is “nobody” at all. To set the mood, Klassen relies heavily on color; the first few rooms are brightly lit in the sun’s rays, but the home grows dimmer as readers proceed. Treating the book itself as a physical location begging to be explored (it’s even shaped like a house), Klassen extends the format beyond its usual limitations, allowing a short story of surprising depth to emerge.
A spooky house tour, unafraid to redefine what board books are capable of achieving. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 14, 2026
ISBN: 9781536248289
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
Simple words and big concepts will make this a godsend to parents at their wit's end.
This book seeks to use the power of persuasion to vanquish that most formidable of opponents: toddlers.
In this entry in the Big Kid Power series, a little black girl makes no bones about the fact that pacifiers (or “binkies”) are strictly baby territory. When she was little she needed one, but that was then. Whether she’s tired, sad, or hungry, there are other ways of being comforted: hugs and polite requests, for instance. After she gives her binky to a baby and bids it a very clear goodbye, the book ends with a triumphant, “I’M A BIG KID!” Using a striking color combination of orange, brown, and black, van Lieshout keeps her pages bold and bright, complementing the simple vocabulary. Such declarations as, “Do I still have a binky? // NO, BIG KIDS DON’T NEED A BINKY. / NOPE!” leave scant wiggle room for argument. In her author’s note at the end, van Lieshout says that after speaking to many parents about how they helped their kids bid their pacifiers adieu, “many of them had in common…a ritual of some sort.” The ritual here seems to be giving the pacifier away, though it may be missed by many readers. Companion title I Use the Potty uses a similar approach, with a proud, white boy as its guide.
Simple words and big concepts will make this a godsend to parents at their wit's end. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4521-3536-6
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
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