Be prepared for some unusual pet requests after sharing this one.
A young child Down Under, in considering a pet, imagines all the fun they could have with a kangaroo.
Readers may recognize the brown-skinned child with their cloud of black hair, blue dress, and yellow Madeline hat from previous outings about pets (If I Had a Unicorn, 2020). This time, they would like a pet with spring: a kangaroo. Not only could the kangaroo carry the child’s backpack, but she could carry the child, too, in her pouch! She could also mow the grass (she’s an “herbivore”), deliver mail, and kick up a froth of bubbles in the bath. Not all the things the duo do together require the specific skill set of a kangaroo, though—barbecuing, dancing in the rain, and snuggling on the couch for book time—but those things are certainly nice to do with a loved pet companion. Australian vocabulary makes an occasional appearance in the rhyming verses—G’day, billabong—along with a sport from Down Under: “Kangaroos are good at sports, / so in a cricket match / she’d bowl a spinning googly… / And she’d use her pouch to catch!” (The illustration here does a pretty good job of putting this in context.) And this entry includes the series’ requisite scatological references. The child’s friends are diverse, and their parents appear to be an interracial couple. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Be prepared for some unusual pet requests after sharing this one. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: July 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-500-65268-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
A sweet, if oft-told, story.
A plush toy rabbit bonds with a boy and watches him grow into adulthood.
The boy receives the blue bunny for his birthday and immediately becomes attached to it. Unbeknownst to him, the ungendered bunny is sentient; it engages in dialogue with fellow toys, giving readers insight into its thoughts. The bunny's goal is to have grand adventures when the boy grows up and no longer needs its company. The boy spends many years playing imaginatively with the bunny, holding it close during both joyous and sorrowful times and taking it along on family trips. As a young man, he marries, starts a family, and hands over the beloved toy to his toddler-aged child in a crib. The bunny's epiphany—that he does not need to wait for great adventures since all his dreams have already come true in the boy's company—is explicitly stated in the lengthy text, which is in many ways similar to The Velveteen Rabbit (1922). The illustrations, which look hand-painted but were digitally created, are moderately sentimental with an impressionistic dreaminess (one illustration even includes a bunny-shaped cloud in the sky) and a warm glow throughout. The depiction of a teenage male openly displaying his emotions—hugging his beloved childhood toy for example—is refreshing. All human characters present as White expect for one of the boy’s friends who is Black.
A sweet, if oft-told, story. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72825-448-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
An earnest graduation gift: sweet for lifelong fans, cheerfully encouraging for striving, future graduates.
Success comes at last for the bright-eyed Pigeon.
A clever, tongue-in-cheek ersatz colophon reveals that this graduate has been awarded a “Master of Ornery-thology, Bachelor of Arts of Persuasion with a Minor in Major Freak-outs (summa cum loudly).” Fans will be glad that the Pigeon’s tireless, abundant optimism is finally being ceremoniously recognized. On the cover, the Pigeon wears a mortarboard at a jaunty angle, commenting, “I have the hat!” Of course, dressing the part is essential. But also, “I did the work. I paid attention to the little details. I took some BIG steps.” The Pigeon encountered obstacles (not shown, but many memorable ones will come to mind for the Pigeon's followers). And the Pigeon is plagued by worries familiar to many students who are about to graduate: “WHAT WILL HAPPEN THEN?!? What will I do? Who will I be?” The Pigeon appears in every frame, in close-ups and in poses variously thoughtful, confident, or slightly distressed. Our hero’s simple big eyes and wings are, as ever, remarkably expressive. “Oop!” In one scene, while walking off the dais, diploma in wing, the Pigeon comes to what seems like the edge of a chasm. At last, our hero takes flight with other graduates. Willems' popular characters Gerald and Piggie are there to look on admiringly.
An earnest graduation gift: sweet for lifelong fans, cheerfully encouraging for striving, future graduates. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781454960430
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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