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ON MY MOUNTAIN

Name: ON MY MOUNTAIN
Author: François Aubineau
ISBN: 978-1-4598-2232-0

by François Aubineau ; illustrated by Jérôme Peyrat ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 25, 2020

Truly a book for today and our changing future.

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Told in two separate stories, the perspectives of a wolf and a shepherd living on the same mountain are presented in this picture-book import from France.

Thanks to a clever design, readers can begin from either side—the physical book flips so the story begins from either end. One side presents the story from the wolf’s perspective; the other, from the shepherd’s. The wolf’s story begins with an arresting illustration depicting the wolf looking down on the shepherd and flock. “This, here, is my mountain,” the text reads. The wolf goes on to tell how it eats, sleeps, and lives on the mountain and how there is danger, but it is also where the wolf feels safe and happy. The wolf relates how it is wary of the “Other,” who has been feared for generations. The wolf is referring, of course, to the shepherd, who carries a long gun in the accompanying illustration. The wolf’s story ends with the thought that while it’s hard to share the mountain, it “surely…is big enough to fit everyone who loves it.” Flipping the book, readers begin the shepherd’s story—and, in a powerfully teachable moment, it is exactly the same, word for word, as the wolf’s. Peyrat’s illustrations, which use delicate lines and a palette of greens, blues, and Alpine white, never fail to impress with their subtle visual linking of the two stories and their bold, atmospheric design.

Truly a book for today and our changing future. (Picture book. 3-9)

Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-4598-2232-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Orca

Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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IT'S MY BIRD-DAY!

From the Pigeon series

by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2026

Familiarity breeds a birthday for the ages in this party worth attending.

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Don’t let the Pigeon ruin his own special day!

Anyone who has ever encountered the title character in any of his books—whether his first, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus (2003), or one of its many sequels—will understand that the bird’s innate self-love drives his every interaction. Little wonder, then, that he’s thrilled about his own “bird-day.” He has the hat. He has his “FANCY PLUMAGE.” And, best of all, he will get to blow out a candle “on my bird-day hot dog!” As he revels in the knowledge that this day is all for him, comeuppance is lurking. Someone has already blown out the bird-day candle—and eaten half the hot dog. It turns out that the Pigeon’s frenemy, the Duckling, has the same bird-day—as do a slew of newly hatched chicks. The Pigeon’s obligatory eight-panel freakout ensues. “What am I—invisible? I just want to be seen,” he whimpers, and when he receives some much-needed reassurance, he settles down and willingly shares his special day. While the switch from unapologetic narcissism to mature acceptance happens in the record-breaking span of two pages, the book is as enchanting as the Pigeon’s earlier outings. Even as it walks in the footsteps of its predecessors, there’s no denying the fun to be had.

Familiarity breeds a birthday for the ages in this party worth attending. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: March 31, 2026

ISBN: 9781454999621

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Union Square Kids

Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

- BOOK REVIEW
THE MONSTER AND PUPPET SHOW!
by Mo Willems & Kate Micucci ; illustrated by Mo Willems & Kate Micucci

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THE PIGEON WON'T COUNT TO 10!
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems

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WILL THE PIGEON GRADUATE?
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems

PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

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PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

by James Dean ; illustrated by James Dean ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 18, 2018

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among

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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)