A timely, vibrant, and cheerfully illustrated reminder about the importance of balance.
An overachieving scout learns the value of saying no in this picture book.
Butterfly Brigade member Jackie, a confident girl with brown skin, curly hair, and glasses, is excited to attend her first scout jamboree. Her enthusiasm for earning patches puts her in the running for the “top scout overall” Golden Monarch Award. She comes up with a plan to enter the Great Jamboree storytelling competition, which would earn her two more patches—she just has to write a tale before the event. It seems simple enough, but when her fellow scouts ask for help fixing their banner and Ms. Cruz needs Jackie to dogsit, the girl finds herself in over her head. Luckily, Mommy’s there with sage advice: “To make people happy, I know how far you would go, / but there often” come times “when you just have to say ‘NO!’ ” For children (and adults) who struggle because they take on too many tasks, this valuable lesson—learned early—could save a lot of future tears. Jackie is a likable protagonist who strives to help everyone. She eventually learns that taking care of herself is just as vital. Ferguson’s humorous, rhyming stanzas scan smoothly throughout, and the invented scouting organization allows more children to identify with Jackie’s goals. The action-oriented illustrations that depict a brown-skinned cast are where Jackie really shines. Aryutova deftly captures the girl’s spirit and challenges in soft-edged, cartoon images.
A timely, vibrant, and cheerfully illustrated reminder about the importance of balance.Pub Date: July 26, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-73616-213-2
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: May 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
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
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