In a word: awesome.
An introduction to an “Awesome Wondrous Empowering emotion!”
Countless picture books teach children to identify and explore feelings; this title stands out for its focus on one that few other stories have considered: awe. Stiefel provides a vivid, child-friendly explanation of the titular word (“When your heart exclaims, ‘Ooh! Ahhh! Whoaaa!”) before offering examples great and small. Awe can be quiet—the experience of silently taking in the northern lights—or loud, like watching fireworks. “Awe can be deep, dark, and frightful”—here, Gal depicts the grotesque creatures found at the bottom of the ocean—but it can also bring “hope and joy…delightful.” (These words are paired with an image of children wading at the beach, gazing at baby turtles.) Awe brings people together and inspires community and creativity. The book concludes by urging readers to seek out awe wherever they are. Gal’s bold swaths of saturated color infused with movement will leave readers breathless; the book’s very format is used to great effect, creating moments of surprise, with gatefolds and rotated pages. Characters vary in skin tone, culture, religion, and ability. In a concluding note, the author and illustrator explain that they were motivated by research about the positive impact of awe on mental health, creativity, and generosity.
In a word: awesome. (resources) (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781546150350
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.
Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.
Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781683693864
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet and endearing feathered migration.
A relationship between a Latina grandmother and her mixed-race granddaughter serves as the frame to depict the ruby-throated hummingbird migration pattern.
In Granny’s lap, a girl is encouraged to “keep still” as the intergenerational pair awaits the ruby-throated hummingbirds with bowls of water in their hands. But like the granddaughter, the tz’unun—“the word for hummingbird in several [Latin American] languages”—must soon fly north. Over the next several double-page spreads, readers follow the ruby-throated hummingbird’s migration pattern from Central America and Mexico through the United States all the way to Canada. Davies metaphorically reunites the granddaughter and grandmother when “a visitor from Granny’s garden” crosses paths with the girl in New York City. Ray provides delicately hashed lines in the illustrations that bring the hummingbirds’ erratic flight pattern to life as they travel north. The watercolor palette is injected with vibrancy by the addition of gold ink, mirroring the hummingbirds’ flashing feathers in the slants of light. The story is supplemented by notes on different pages with facts about the birds such as their nest size, diet, and flight schedule. In addition, a note about ruby-throated hummingbirds supplies readers with detailed information on how ornithologists study and keep track of these birds.
A sweet and endearing feathered migration. (bibliography, index) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0538-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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