A charming story to fall into in autumn or any season; it might even tempt kids to try acorn squash.
It’s good to be a gourd.
Besties Acorn Squash and Pumpkin love spending time in winter, spring, and summer. Come autumn, though, Pumpkin receives all the adulation. People clamor for pumpkin pie, pumpkin lattes, and pumpkin bisque. Other gourds go unnoticed; Acorn Squash feels left out. This year, our protagonist has “#SquashGoals.” Determined to become an “Autumn STAR,” Acorn Squash sets up a booth at the Harvest Festival and spotlights goodies like “Squilk” (acorn squash–flavored milk). Sadly, Acorn Squash garners zero attention, while Pumpkin’s relentless PR team guarantees that huge crowds will clamor for her. In a surprise twist, Pumpkin tracks down Acorn Squash. In need of respite from the madness, she just wants to spend time with her pal. The crowds won’t let Pumpkin go, though, so Acorn Squash suggests joining forces, giving the public “a double dose of autumn awesomeness!” Consequently, “SquashKin” becomes a hot new trend, and the gourds are now besties in every season. This lively fall story about friendship and collaboration will boost children’s feelings of empathy; Acorn Squash is especially appealing and relatable. At times, the text has an adult sensibility, though: References to soup subscriptions, the paparazzi, and a PR team pushing hair, makeup, and autograph-signing appointments will likely sail over kids’ heads. Still, the cheery, dynamic illustrations, bursting with bright autumnal colors and personable, googly-eyed characters, are delightful. Humans are diverse.
A charming story to fall into in autumn or any season; it might even tempt kids to try acorn squash. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9780593805909
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...
Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Sugary uplift, shrink-wrapped for the masses.
An elusive new quarry leads the How To Catch… kids on a merry chase through a natural history museum.
Taking at least a step away from the “hunters versus prey” vibe of previous entries in the popular series, the racially diverse group of young visitors dashes through various museum halls in pursuit of the eponymous dino—whose quest to “spread kindness and joy ’round the world” takes the form of a mildly tumultuous museum tour. In most of Elkerton’s overly sweet, color-saturated scenes, only portions of the Loveosaurus, who is purple and covered with pink hearts, are visible behind exhibits or lumbering off the page. But the children find small enticements left behind, from craft supplies to make cards for endangered species to pictures of smiley faces, candy heart–style personal notes (“You Rock!” “Give Hugs”), and, in the hall of medieval arms and armor, a sign urging them to “Be Honest Be Kind.” The somewhat heavy-handed lesson comes through loud and clear. “There’s a message, he wants us to think,” hints Walstead to clue in more obtuse readers…and concluding scenes of smiling people young and otherwise exchanging hugs and knuckle bumps, holding doors for a wheelchair rider, and dancing through clouds of sparkles indicate that they, at least, have gotten it. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Sugary uplift, shrink-wrapped for the masses. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2022
ISBN: 9781728268781
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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