Sensitive, uplifting, and honest—a pitch-perfect portrait of a loving working-class family.
A yellow car zips through busy city streets carrying a precious load of parental love.
Aizah’s Baba works long hours driving his taxicab, but on Saturday mornings, Aizah dons star-shaped glasses and a tiara for their weekly ritual—a father-daughter ride that makes Aizah feel like a movie star. Baba rarely has time to see Aizah perform in school plays, and she’s on her own while walking home after school. She’s stoic, though, meeting challenges with grace and humor (“I have to figure out by myself that the crossing guard is really an alien from Planet Froofawitz”). When a Daddy-Daughter dance appears on the school calendar, Aizah turns her initial disappointment at Baba being unable to attend into triumph with a creative solution: a party honoring her father (the titular “Baba Palooza”). Eloquent yet child-friendly similes likening the yellow taxi to a tropical mango (from the “Pakistani grocery store”), a bumblebee, and even a worn-out yellow No. 2 pencil underscore the characters’ South Asian heritage and speak to the family’s conflicted feelings about Baba’s job—Baba’s shame as he compares himself to friends employed as doctors or engineers; Aizah’s pride in her hardworking father. Alam’s fluid, bustling, cartoonish artwork carefully zeroes in on small details (like a hearing aid for Baba, who’s Deaf and speaks in Pakistani sign language) and builds creative compositions for a vivid tale that addresses socioeconomic realities.
Sensitive, uplifting, and honest—a pitch-perfect portrait of a loving working-class family. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9781419777158
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2026
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
A predictable series entry, mitigated as usual by the protagonists’ perennially energetic positivity.
A holiday-centered spinoff from the duo behind the inspired The Day the Crayons Quit (2013).
With Green Crayon on vacation, how can the waxy ones pull off a colorful St. Patrick’s Day celebration with Duncan, their (unseen) owner? Through their signature combo of cooperation and unwavering enthusiasm, of course. Blue and Yellow collaborate on a field of shamrocks that blends—however spottily—into green. Nearly invisible White Crayon supplies an otherwise unclothed light-skinned leprechaun with undies, and Orange draws a pair of pants that match the wee creature’s iconic beard and hair. Pink applies colors to a vest, and Purple, a natty jacket and boots. Chunky Toddler Crayon contributes a “perfect” scribbly blue hat; Beige and Brown team up for the leprechaun’s harp. In arguably the best bit, Black exuberantly manifests a decidedly unvariegated rainbow, while Gold’s pot of coins is right on the money, hue-wise. Their ardor undimmed by the holiday’s missing customary color, everyone assembles to party. Though the repartee among the crayons isn’t as developed as in previous outings, the book hews close to Daywalt and Jeffers’ winning formula, and there’s still enough here to keep readers chuckling. And, in a droll “wait for it” moment nicely calibrated for storytime, Green returns from vacation, sunglasses and suitcase in hand: “Did I miss anything while I was gone?” (The cover illustrations do hint at some Green-inflected remediation.)
A predictable series entry, mitigated as usual by the protagonists’ perennially energetic positivity. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780593624333
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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