Perhaps a metaphor. Perhaps not. An unconventional consideration of friendship and the wisdom of experience over time.
Surreal details and unusual art mark this coming-of-age tale from Sweden.
“Once upon a time, a boy lived with his father where the forest and the blue sea met.” So begins this fable. When the child expresses an interest in seeing the woods and sea for himself, his father tells him that there are bears in the forest and sharks in the sea. Things take a turn for the odd as the father ages and the boy does not. Now elderly, the father becomes a tree in their home, bearing the boy like a boat when rains wash them away. At sea, the boy comes across a bear, who shares the tree with him, and, later, a shark, who saves them both from drowning. A friendship blossoms between boy and bear, and the book ends with a poem, which concludes: “Good new thoughts come every day / And darkness lets me be.” Each of the tale’s four chapters presents sketches in four different pencil colors. At times, such art can be disturbing, as when the boy’s father becomes more grotesque and gnarled with age. More often, though, it’s dreamlike and engaging, as in two silent two-page spreads of the boy and tree in the sea, silhouetted against the waves. The story is similarly cryptic, beckoning readers to consider deeper meanings. Human characters have skin the color of the page.
Perhaps a metaphor. Perhaps not. An unconventional consideration of friendship and the wisdom of experience over time. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: May 19, 2026
ISBN: 9781778402203
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Greystone Kids
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note.
Little Honey Bunny Funnybunny loves baseball almost as much as she loves her big brother P.J.—though it’s a close-run thing.
Readers familiar with the pranks P.J. plays on his younger sibling in older episodes of the series (most illustrated by Roger Bollen) will be amused—and perhaps a little confused—to see him in the role of perfect big brother after meeting his swaddled little sister for the first time in mama’s lap. But here, along with being a constant companion and “always happy to see her,” he cements his heroic status in her eyes by hitting a home run for his baseball team and then patiently teaching her how to play T-ball. After carefully coaching her and leading her through warm-up exercises, he even sits in the stands, loudly cheering her on as she scores the winning run in her own very first game. “‘You are the best brother a bunny could ever have!’” she burbles. This tale’s a tad blander compared with others centered on P.J. and his sister, but it’s undeniably cheery, with text well structured for burgeoning readers. The all-smiles animal cast in Bowers’ cartoon art features a large and diversely hued family of bunnies sporting immense floppy ears as well as a multispecies crowd of furry onlookers equally varied of color, with one spectator in a wheelchair.
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note. (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9798217032464
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
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