A fun STEAM-based adventure.
A group of diverse kids plan a squirrel rescue by using their STEAM skills in Evan and Deborah Pacheco’s middle-grade graphic novel debut.
Derin, Zoe, Cody, and Jayahave a love of coding and engineering in common, as well as a very cool treehouse that they share. One day, their plans for a new project are interrupted when they hear a squirrel in distress; the poor creature is stuck under a huge pile of acorns. Leader Derin formulates a plan: They’ll build devices to collect the acorns and free the squirrel, all run by Derin’s software and monitored by Zoe’s drone. The kids work together to build and create, but when they put their plan into action, everything goes haywire (“Well, that didn’t go as planned”). Just when all seems lost, Zoe realizes that even though things didn’t work as intended, the squirrel ended up free from the acorns and safe after all. The story is bookended by an introduction including bios of each kid and detailed instructions on how to create an interactive story at the end of the book. The Pachecos, a mother-son team, introduce a cast of kids with different specialties within the same shared STEAM interests. (The squirrel rescue itself is so brief that these aspects don’t yet play a large role, but the seeds are there for future episodes.) The Pachecos allow Hernandez’s cartoon illustrations to relay some of the story, including a wordless two page spread in which the children are chased by bees, apparently drawn by the sound of their acorn-gathering robot. But some details are unclear: Why did the devices not work? Why were the squirrels trapped under acorns in the first place? These plot holes may not trouble young readers, who will instead take away the message that failure isn’t the end; it’s just the beginning of new possibilities.
A fun STEAM-based adventure.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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