A cutesy but conversation-starting narrative that takes anxiety seriously and offers practical solutions.
Ruby the penguin prepares for what she knows will be a nervous time at the talent show.
Ruby starts every day with a song: “I’m a pep pep peppy penguin.” But while she’s excited to sing at the upcoming Penguin Talent show, she confesses to her friend Pengwee, of author Nutley’s Pengwee’s Breath (2021), she’s not sure that her usual methods for calming her nervous heart, like dancing the Jiggly Wiggly, will work. Pengwee suggests she pretend she’s alone on stage, but Ruby isn’t sure that will be possible. She tries to follow her mother’s advice (sing from the heart), but it’s her pounding heart that seems to be the source of her anxiety. Pengwee helps Ruby talk about how her heart feels when she experiences different emotions: It “hip-hops when I’m happy, sinks when I’m sad, and wobbles when I worry.” Pengwee’s heart feels similarly, and they conclude that Ruby should look at Pengwee if she gets nervous. At the talent show, a combination of looking up at the sky and at her sympathetic friend helps her sing. Rusu’s loose, expressive digital paintings in cool tones show glossy-eyed, cute penguins wearing scarves and hats and depict joyful song as a blue, yellow, and purple swirling cloud. The penguins’ expressions alternate between blissful calm and shuddering anxiety. While some of the child-like lingo (dancing the Jiggly Wiggly) may put off older readers, younger kids navigating anxiety may benefit from the heart-and-breath-focused mindfulness of physicality and options for navigating high-stress situations.
A cutesy but conversation-starting narrative that takes anxiety seriously and offers practical solutions.Pub Date: Dec. 20, 2023
ISBN: 9781737747932
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Purple Green Press LLC
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts.
In this latest slice in the Food Group series, Humble Pie learns to stand up to a busy friend who’s taking advantage of his pal’s hard work on the sidelines.
Jake the Cake and Humble Pie are good friends. Where Pie is content to toil in the background, Jake happily shines in the spotlight. Alert readers will notice that Pie’s always right there, too, getting A-pluses and skiing expertly just behind—while also doing the support work that keeps every school and social project humming. “Fact: Nobody notices pie when there’s cake nearby!” When the two friends pair up for a science project, things begin well. But when the overcommitted Jake makes excuse after excuse, showing up late or not at all, a panicked Pie realizes that they won’t finish in time. When Jake finally shows up on the night before the project’s due, Pie courageously confronts him. “And for once, I wasn’t going to sugarcoat it.” The friends talk it out and collaborate through the night for the project’s successful presentation in class the next day. John and Oswald’s winning recipe—plentiful puns and delightful visual jokes—has yielded another treat here. The narration does skew didactic as it wraps up: “There’s nothing wrong with having a tough conversation, asking for help, or making sure you’re being treated fairly.” But it’s all good fun, in service of some gentle lessons about social-emotional development.
A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780063469730
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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