Wryly magical.
An equine retelling of a classic fairy tale, with many, many twists.
Snow Pony is a stunning mare with a snow-white coat and a black, braided mane (hair braiding is one of her specialties—those are some clever hooves). She loves to put on shows with her favorite friend, Charmaine (a medium-tan gal with long black hair, also perfect for braiding). Children come for miles around to see the shows. Queenie, a dappled mare, is jealous of all the attention lavished on Snow Pony. She decides to trick her, leaving a trail of (nonpoisonous) apples leading out the gate, into the dark, scary forest. Snow Pony eats the apples and finds herself lost. But then she comes across a stable with seven tiny stalls. Interestingly, the story here takes a “Goldilocks” turn: Seven shaggy miniature ponies return to find someone has nibbled their hay, eaten 77 sugar cubes, and is asleep in their stall. The ponies introduce themselves (adults will get a chuckle out of the bespectacled tax-attorney pony). Snow Pony joins them for a while but misses Charmaine. They figure out a way back to the farm, and mean ol’ Queenie gets her comeuppance (a large glue bottle is a shocking clue until a page turn reveals the true ending). Sima’s ornate text-box frames and bountiful sparkles that follow Snow Pony add to the fairy-tale mystique.
Wryly magical. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4814-6268-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
A useful introduction to citizen science.
On a late spring night under a full moon, Leena, her mother, and her dog count horseshoe crabs on an island beach.
Simply written in short paragraphs, this slim text is long on information if short on excitement. Horseshoe crabs (not true crabs but related to spiders) swarm up beaches along the Atlantic coast to lay eggs in the sand in spring. Millions of migrating shorebirds, including endangered red knots, time their visits to these beaches to feast on the eggs. Humans use the blood of horseshoe crabs to test medicine. The state of the species is important, and citizen scientists like Leena and her mother are deployed to estimate the crab population by counting individuals in a designated area. The authors recount Leena’s experience: a short boat trip, recording time and temperature, looking carefully at an individual crab, getting her dog to wait patiently, and counting while her mother tallies. Jones’ digital paintings resemble animated films; she makes particular use of the spotlight effects of the moonlight. Black-haired Leena and her mother might be of South Asian heritage like the scientist co-author. Four pages of backmatter add helpful information. This story leaves readers with less of a sense of the wonder of this remarkable spring event than Lisa Kahn Schnell and Alan Marks’ High Tide for Horseshoe Crabs (2015) but is more personal. Bat Count, by Anna Forrester and illustrated by Susan Detweiler, publishes simultaneously and features a black family engaging in similar citizen science on their farm.
A useful introduction to citizen science. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 10, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62855-9309
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Arbordale Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
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
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