Sure to have kids beside themselves with glee.
Who doesn’t want a new pair of underpants?
After receiving a gift of six pairs of day-of-the-week underwear (five for Monday through Friday and just one for the weekend), a child is inspired to pull out their arts and crafts supplies and make some very impressive and rather surprising undies to share with all of their real and imaginary friends. Their sister, some ants, a pirate, an octopus, a python, a tortoise, a bobblehead, a piggy bank, a clownfish, a race car, a wizard, a boomerang, and a dragon are just some of the lucky yet somewhat less than appreciative recipients of these whimsical creations. “I thought my friends would like their gifts—they didn’t seem to care!” our young hero briefly laments before realizing that “If underpants are optional, then I don’t need a pair.” Is that why the original gift was only six pairs instead of seven? No one will be able to look at the final illustration—of the bare-bottomed young narrator—without at least cracking…a smile. Depicting bulging-eyed people and animals, many hilariously perturbed at their new skivvies, the watercolor, ink, and pencil illustrations will delight readers, as will the rhyming text. This one is ideal for reluctant listeners and readers, lovers of bathroom humor, and those in need of a seriously strong chuckle. The child and their family members are brown-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Sure to have kids beside themselves with glee. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 16, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-79720-216-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Farcical fairy-tale fun.
An entire royal retinue is on hand to serve a princess’s every desire…but do they know what she truly wants?
Before Princess Roselyn the Reticent can articulate what she needs, her parents (the king and queen) and the people of her kingdom anticipate it for her. “Was that a speck of dirt? ‘Run a bath for the princess!’” And when they think she wants a treat? Time for “ALL THE ICE CREAM IN THE LAND.” Preparations of epic proportions ensue: a larger-than-life bowl and spoon, a massive cabinet to hold them, and oodles of cows to provide the ice cream’s primary ingredient. But how will Roselyn consume such a gargantuan treat? Wizards are summoned to cast a spell making Roselyn larger. At last, when everything is prepared, Roselyn speaks—and reveals that all she wanted was a slice of pizza. Brimming with over-the-top absurdity, the story will delight young readers with each outlandish new step. Relying heavily on repetition, Kastner’s storytelling calls back to classic fairy tales, with pleasing results; her charmingly cartoonish illustrations include thoughtful details and evoke a medieval setting. Roselyn is tan-skinned and red-haired, while her mother is pale-skinned and red-haired, and her father is brown-skinned with a white moustache. The townspeople vary in skin tone.
Farcical fairy-tale fun. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9781665984515
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
As Captain Awesome would say, this kid is “MI-TEE!” (Fiction. 5-8)
The town of Sunnyview got a little bit safer when 8-year-old Eugene McGillicudy moved in.
Just like his comic-book mentor, Super Dude, Eugene, aka Captain Awesome, is on a one-man mission is to save the world from supervillains, like the nefarious “Queen Stinkypants from Planet Baby.” Just as Eugene suspected, plenty of new supervillains await him at Sunnyview Elementary. Are Meredith Mooney and the mind-reading Ms. Beasley secretly working together to try and force Eugene to reveal his secret identity? Will Principal Brick Foot succeed in throwing Captain Awesome into the “Dungeon of Detention?” Fortunately, Eugene isn’t forced to go it alone. Charlie Thomas Jones, fellow comic-book lover and Super Dude fan, stands ready and willing to help. When the class hamster goes missing, Captain Awesome must don his cape and, with the help of his new best friend, ride to the rescue. Kirby’s funny and engaging third-person narration and O’Connor’s hilarious illustrations make the book easily accessible and enormously appealing, particularly to readers who have recently graduated to chapter books. But it is the quirky, mischievous Eugene that really makes this book special. His energy and humor are contagious, and his dogged commitment to his superhero alter ego is enough to make anyone a believer.
As Captain Awesome would say, this kid is “MI-TEE!” (Fiction. 5-8)Pub Date: April 3, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-4090-6
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
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