Readers will want to accompany this substitute tooth fairy on his rounds over and over.
Farmer Brown’s iconic waterfowl moonlights as a magical assistant.
Sunset signals that pale-skinned Farmer Brown’s work is done, but Duck’s evening has just begun. He has agreed to help the Tooth Fairy collect teeth and leave gastronomically appropriate rewards behind—salt licks for the calves, sweet potatoes for the piglets, and broccoli for the lambs. Cronin and Lewin’s protagonist is an irresistible member of the pantheon of cartoon ducks. Clad in a tutu and wielding a homemade wand, he carries out his sneaky mission. He carefully reads the list of instructions left behind by the Tooth Fairy—has anyone seen a duck sit on a stool and review guidelines with such intention before? This latest entertaining episode is rife with clever details; even the text on the copyright page forms a silhouette of Duck! Each of Duck’s tasks concludes not with the recipients discovering their treats, but with the declaration, “He is done!” in enlarged font, accompanied by full-page artwork (a close-up of Duck’s derriere in the moonlight, Duck catching a quick nap in the grass, and our hero joyously tossing off his tools). And at last, a reward awaits hardworking Duck. How does Duck know the Tooth Fairy, exactly? Answering that question is a reward in and of itself, as borne out by a wordlessly affecting epilogue where the line between imaginative play and magic blurs and disappears.
Readers will want to accompany this substitute tooth fairy on his rounds over and over. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9798347114702
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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