Charming, encouraging, and delightful. Go, Nick! (Picture book. 3-8)
In a mouse family of four nearly identical brothers, Nick always seems to be trying to catch up.
When Mommy gives them shirts of different colors so she can tell them apart, Mick, Vick, and Rick have very specific reasons for their color choices. Nick gets the one that’s left over. Nick also likes his brothers’ tasty food selections, but he alone is willing to try a plain green salad. Mick, Vick, and Rick all know what they want to be when they grow up, but Nick is keeping his options open. He rides his bike and runs as fast as he can, lagging behind the others in each activity. Even when they pick flowers for Mommy, he is left with a “small green sprout.” He has been cheerful about most things, but this time he is really disappointed and sad. The next day he finds that his sprout has developed into a beautiful, unusual flower. The father-daughter creative team’s little mouse family is warm and sweet. Nick’s brothers may lead him but they don’t tease him (much), and Mommy is loving, patient, and accepting. She understands that, like the flower, Nick is a late bloomer. The lively acrylic illustrations are rendered in soft, clear colors on a lightly textured background and move speedily across double-page spreads. Treacle and honey are assiduously avoided, leaving gentle reassurance for self-doubting little readers.
Charming, encouraging, and delightful. Go, Nick! (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: June 16, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4169-5506-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2015
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A charming tale of an athlete who may not steal any bases but who will certainly steal readers’ hearts.
Ohtani, pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, teams up with Blank and Liem to tell the story of how his dog, Decoy, threw out a ceremonial first pitch.
It’s a big day! Decoy leaps “off the bed. Then back onto the bed. Then off the bed.” The enthusiastic pup heads outside to practice with his lucky baseball but is quickly distracted by squirrels (“we’ll play later!”), airplanes (“flyin’ high!”), and flowers (“smell ya soon!”). Dog and pitcher then head to the ballpark. In the locker room, Decoy high-paws Shohei’s teammates. It’s nearly time! But as Shohei prepares to warm up, Decoy realizes that he’s forgotten something important: his lucky ball. Without it, there will be “no championships, no parades, and no hot dogs!” Back home he goes, returning just in time. With Shohei at the plate, Decoy runs from the mound to his owner, rolling the ball into Shohei’s mitt for a “Striiiiike!” Related from a dog’s point of view, Ohtani and Blank’s energetic text lends the tale a sense of urgency and suspense. Liem’s illustrations capture the excitement of the first day of baseball season and the joys of locker room camaraderie, as well as Shohei and Decoy’s mutual affection—even when the ball is drenched in slobber, Shohei’s love for his pet shines through, and clearly, Decoy is focused when it matters.
A charming tale of an athlete who may not steal any bases but who will certainly steal readers’ hearts. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9780063460775
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
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