Pip’s parting thought is a lesson for all: “Pip wondered what else someone as small as a mouse might know.” It’s...
When an owl stops to consider the words of a mouse, it changes his point of view and improves his swooping skills.
Beware food that talks back! When Pip tries to swoop toward the base of the oak to scoop up a mouse for Rufus’ mush breakfast, he falls on Theodore the mouse instead. “That was more falling than swooping,” the rodent points out. It’s the beginning of a rather lengthy (for one that occurs between someone who is supposed to be catching dinner and someone who is meant to be dinner) conversation (and perhaps friendship). Theodore has given flying a lot of thought, and he shows Pip where he should practice his swooping—above the tallest trees where it’s windiest. Pip flies off with Theodore in his talons to test the hypothesis. Pip’s swooping—and Theodore’s ride—is glorious, the illustrations showing the two above gorgeous sunset scenery. At the end of the flight, though, Rufus’ hooting brings the two back to reality and the problem at hand. Luckily, Theodore has a solution to that as well. Cazet’s pictures have an old-fashioned aesthetic, but there is a somewhat jarring clash between the fairly realistic backgrounds and the cartoon characters. (Theodore’s front stoop, a tidy arched doorway at the base of an old oak tree, is darling, though.)
Pip’s parting thought is a lesson for all: “Pip wondered what else someone as small as a mouse might know.” It’s delightfully elastic, too, for readers encouraged to think beyond the animal kingdom. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-17648-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Neal Porter/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.
Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.
Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781464268076
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2026
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