With characteristic warmth and zest, Gliori (Pure Dead Wicked, p. 955, etc.) takes a star turn with the perennial “waiting for the new baby to come” theme. Little Milo the penguin doesn’t know how he feels about the egg his mother the mail carrier has laid. But then, when she leaves on a food-finding mission, someone has to take care of the egg and someone has to deliver her mail. After taking on her route, delivering baby goods to a string of Moms from Ursula Major the bear to Ms. Stella Polaris (address: “Over the Pole, The Milky Way”), Milo finds the egg itself at the bottom of his mail sack, and makes one last, mind-settling “special delivery” to his own address. Dad, it seems, has been keeping a baby gift warm instead of the egg. Tucking comic side details (a set of nesting penguins, tiny bee-sized high heels) into each of her spacious, crisply drawn polar scenes, Gliori follows this spirited young mailbird as he drags his oversized rucksack up steep slopes, then gleefully rides it back down. Whether they too are expecting new siblings or not, children following along will cheer every successful delivery, and may become less inclined to take their own mail carriers for granted. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-15-216765-X
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2002
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note.
Little Honey Bunny Funnybunny loves baseball almost as much as she loves her big brother P.J.—though it’s a close-run thing.
Readers familiar with the pranks P.J. plays on his younger sibling in older episodes of the series (most illustrated by Roger Bollen) will be amused—and perhaps a little confused—to see him in the role of perfect big brother after meeting his swaddled little sister for the first time in mama’s lap. But here, along with being a constant companion and “always happy to see her,” he cements his heroic status in her eyes by hitting a home run for his baseball team and then patiently teaching her how to play T-ball. After carefully coaching her and leading her through warm-up exercises, he even sits in the stands, loudly cheering her on as she scores the winning run in her own very first game. “‘You are the best brother a bunny could ever have!’” she burbles. This tale’s a tad blander compared with others centered on P.J. and his sister, but it’s undeniably cheery, with text well structured for burgeoning readers. The all-smiles animal cast in Bowers’ cartoon art features a large and diversely hued family of bunnies sporting immense floppy ears as well as a multispecies crowd of furry onlookers equally varied of color, with one spectator in a wheelchair.
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note. (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9798217032464
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
At her best, Rylant’s (The Ticky-Tacky Doll, below, etc.) sweetness and sentiment fills the heart; in this outing, however, sentimentality reigns and the end result is pretty gooey. Pandora keeps a lighthouse: her destiny is to protect ships at sea. She’s lonely, but loves her work. She rescues Seabold and heals his broken leg, and he stays on to mend his shipwrecked boat. This wouldn’t be so bad but Pandora’s a cat and Seabold a dog, although they are anthropomorphized to the max. Then the duo rescue three siblings—mice!—and make a family together, although Rylant is careful to note that Pandora and Seabold each have their own room. Choosing what you love, caring for others, making a family out of love, it is all very well, but this capsizes into silliness. Formatted to look like the start of a new series. Oh, dear. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-689-84880-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2002
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