bookshelf

THE SHEEP WHO HATCHED AN EGG

Name: THE SHEEP WHO HATCHED AN EGG
Author: Gemma Merino
ISBN: 978-0-8075-7338-9

by Gemma Merino ; illustrated by Gemma Merino ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2017

Merino’s airy style reflects the light message of the book: celebrate yourself and enjoy your imperfections.

bookshelf

One vain sheep with a gorgeous head of hair plus an egg that needs a place to hatch equals a dandy tale of self-acceptance.

Lola spends endless hours attending to her wool so it is never tangled. She struts her ovine stuff through the farmyard, where she enjoys the adoration of the other sheep. Imagine her shock when she is shorn in the spring! She is embarrassed without her wool and disappointed when it grows back wild, messy, and tangled! She is devastated. Her preoccupation keeps Lola from noticing when a small egg falls from a tree onto her new, matted tresses. When the egg hatches into a sweet chick, Lola gains a friend—one who loves Lola’s ample, messy wool. Droll illustrations, in translucent greens and blues with relaxed lines barely holding in the color, are sure to bring a chuckle to young lap listeners. They will enjoy noticing that some of the earlier spreads are repeated later in the book, but with subtle changes. One repeated scene of Lola’s living room shows the same dresser with a vase of red flowers, but this time the painting on the wall is not of Lola with a medal around her perfect neck but with her crazy hair lovingly holding her new friend.

Merino’s airy style reflects the light message of the book: celebrate yourself and enjoy your imperfections. (Picture book. 3-8)

Pub Date: April 1, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-8075-7338-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Whitman

Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE DRAGON WHO DIDN'T LIKE FIRE
by Gemma Merino ; illustrated by Gemma Merino

- BOOK REVIEW
THE COW WHO CLIMBED A TREE
by Gemma Merino ; illustrated by Gemma Merino

bookshelf

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.

bookshelf

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

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

- BOOK REVIEW
WILL THE PIGEON GRADUATE?
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems

PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

bookshelf

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

bookshelf

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)