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EVERY BREATH, EVERY BLESSING

Name: EVERY BREATH, EVERY BLESSING
Author: Dorena Williamson
ISBN: 9780310166788

FINDING HOPE ON TOUGH DAYS

by Dorena Williamson ; illustrated by Paran Kim ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 12, 2025

Solid ideas for weathering storms, but the storms are as different as apples and oranges.

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Tools to help kids weather the ups and downs of life.

The author’s aids for getting through tough times are good ones: breathe in and out (readers can’t help doing this each time it’s mentioned in the book); remember that you are loved and a unique individual and that life is a blessing (these last two points add religiosity with mentions of the “Giver of Breath” and “His precious blessings”); lend a helping hand; look for the helpers; and take life one day at a time. Illustrations often depict pairs, with the adult serving as the child’s anchor in the storm, a reliable person to whom a young person can talk and ask questions. And the book has some ups to somewhat balance its downs—a family camping trip, getting pushed on a swing, sharing time with friends. But while it’s true that everyone has rough days, those days aren’t necessarily comparable: a rainy day and a fire drill at school are different from being a wheelchair user, having a cochlear implant, or facing the damage from a severe storm in your community. Kim’s brightly colored illustrations highlight people of varying ages, skin tones, and abilities.

Solid ideas for weathering storms, but the storms are as different as apples and oranges. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 12, 2025

ISBN: 9780310166788

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Zonderkidz

Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S RELIGION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE STORY OF JUNETEENTH
by Dorena Williamson ; illustrated by Markia Jenai

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK LOST AND FOUND

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 18, 2026

Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed.

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Beep! Beep! Beep! Toad and Little Blue Truck get ready for a hayride.

After the titular vehicle is loaded with hay, Toad is nowhere to be found. “Beep! Beep! Beep! Where are you, Toad?” asks Little Blue Truck. All the barnyard animals look for him. Sheep searches the meadow. Goose and Duck check the pond. Others pitch in, too, but Toad seems to have disappeared…until Hen hears snoring coming from the pile of hay in the back of Little Blue Truck. Although the text’s scansion is imperfect in places (adults may want to pre-read to ensure a smooth read-aloud), the bouncy meter and rhyming text nevertheless capture the energy of the search and the farmyard community’s concern for Toad’s safety, making this a solid storytime choice. Eye-catching illustrations with rich, fully saturated colors balance the right level of detail while still highlighting the animal that is the focus of each verse. By introducing one farm animal at a time, Schertle also helps the youngest readers begin to identify barnyard animals by name and understand their unique farm homes. Traditional animal sounds are part of the text, and listeners will add them to their vocabulary. It all ends with the promised hayride, bringing the tale to a joyous ending.

Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2026

ISBN: 9780063436121

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)