Readers will eagerly follow along as this kindly, adroit, and eco-friendly builder leads the way.
Engineering alone can’t solve this unusual construction problem.
Hank the canine, looming over his three-dog crew, “always knows what to do.” The others drive “the dozer, the dump truck, the digger,” but Hank scans the blueprints, as well as surveying, measuring, hammering, doing engine repairs, and teaching the others a welding technique. The team members are raising the one-piece roof when they see a nest: Two birds that have been observing the work (flip back to spot them!) have built themselves a home. Hank wants to banish the birds to a distant tree, but surprisingly the crew spontaneously improvises a worker-scarecrow to protect the nest, giving Hank time to notice the eggs inside. Hank rethinks, replans, and graciously thanks the team as the birds enjoy their new green roof (which is made of materials that allow plants to flourish, per the backmatter). Well-chosen rhymes flow naturally and will help beginning readers with tricky words (stuff/rough). In the lively cartoon illustrations, the dogs wear work gloves, work boots, goggles, and hard hats. Orange, red, and yellow complement gray-blue washes. Scale is happily sacrificed to clarity, and the crew’s lunch atop a dangling I-beam cleverly references the famous 1932 Rockefeller Center steelworkers photo. Backmatter instructions for making a planter will require adult guidance. Construction fans and environmentalists alike will be hankering for Hank!
Readers will eagerly follow along as this kindly, adroit, and eco-friendly builder leads the way. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781368108294
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
