A tale sure to have even the most uncertain wallflowers cutting loose on the dance floor.
A young South Asian girl finds the courage to dance while attending a wedding with family.
Talia is entranced by the bhangra dancers as they leap through the air. But much as she’d like to join them—and, once the dancers finish their performance, her relatives—she remains on the sidelines. Whenever she’s hit the dance floor in the past, her “feet turned into heavy clay pots,” and her “arms froze like kulfi.” Distressed, she runs to her Dadi (paternal grandmother), who encourages her to participate. Sensing Talia’s hesitation, Dadi recounts how, when she was younger, her husband—Talia’s grandfather—used to say Dadi danced like a chicken and teased her for stepping on his toes. As strange and uncoordinated as she looked, though, Dadi says that she misses the fun of bhangra; now that she uses a cane, she no longer feels comfortable dancing. Dadi’s longing for the past spurs both of them to take a big step: joining the others on the dance floor. This intergenerational tale is at once humorous, heartwarming, and inspiring. The vibrant, expressive illustrations are the perfect complement to the culturally relevant, metaphor-laden text. The intertwined themes of creative expression, risk taking, and drawing strength from our loved ones will resonate with adult and child readers alike.
A tale sure to have even the most uncertain wallflowers cutting loose on the dance floor. (glossary) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 13, 2025
ISBN: 9780063265028
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Toad and Little Blue Truck get ready for a hayride.
After the titular vehicle is loaded with hay, Toad is nowhere to be found. “Beep! Beep! Beep! Where are you, Toad?” asks Little Blue Truck. All the barnyard animals look for him. Sheep searches the meadow. Goose and Duck check the pond. Others pitch in, too, but Toad seems to have disappeared…until Hen hears snoring coming from the pile of hay in the back of Little Blue Truck. Although the text’s scansion is imperfect in places (adults may want to pre-read to ensure a smooth read-aloud), the bouncy meter and rhyming text nevertheless capture the energy of the search and the farmyard community’s concern for Toad’s safety, making this a solid storytime choice. Eye-catching illustrations with rich, fully saturated colors balance the right level of detail while still highlighting the animal that is the focus of each verse. By introducing one farm animal at a time, Schertle also helps the youngest readers begin to identify barnyard animals by name and understand their unique farm homes. Traditional animal sounds are part of the text, and listeners will add them to their vocabulary. It all ends with the promised hayride, bringing the tale to a joyous ending.
Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2026
ISBN: 9780063436121
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.
Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.
Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781464268076
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2026
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