A rapturous reflection on community worth holding close to one’s heart.
Caring adults support a Muscogee child’s development.
Things start small in this beautiful picture book from Smith (Muscogee). As River gardens with his mother, Auntie Abbie comes to help. Auntie Vicki is his second grade teacher; yet another auntie takes him fishing. When Auntie Emma stops by his class to teach a Native history lesson, River declares, “It’s a good day to be Indigenous!” and the book’s full focus emerges. Aunties, by kin and by community, accompany River in moments of celebration—powwows and weddings—and solemnity as they consider personal loss and tragedies in both Black and Native history. The tale also marks the flow of seasons, with leaf piles, quiet snowfall, and butterflies blessing River’s pregnant Mama on Mother’s Day. As River finishes the school year, these empathetic adults celebrate his achievement; when his baby sister arrives, they’re right outside the door, eager to begin the cycle of love again. Set on an Oklahoma reservation populated by Muscogee Nation citizens and other Indigenous and non-Native people, this tale feels lived-in in the best ways; well-chosen details from River’s life, in both word and image, are deeply relatable to any reader yet gloriously his own. Aphelandra’s (Oneida) auntie roster includes women of various ages, skin tones, and body type; though her painting style is lightly abstracted, each auntie is so vibrantly imagined that it feels like you might know her yourself.
A rapturous reflection on community worth holding close to one’s heart. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 10, 2026
ISBN: 9780063374690
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Heartdrum
Review Posted Online: Nov. 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2025
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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
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