bookshelf

THE NEXT SHINY OBJECT

Name: THE NEXT SHINY OBJECT
Author: Hudson Talbott
ISBN: 9780593856772

by Hudson Talbott ; illustrated by Hudson Talbott ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 4, 2026

Encouraging.

bookshelf

A child’s inquisitiveness becomes disruptive.

For the tan-skinned, dark-haired young narrator of this book, curiosity often feels like a beast that’s “always ready to chase the next shiny object”—a dragon, specifically, because it’s “always draggin’ me around” and making it hard to sit still in school. Talbott’s energetic cartoon illustrations, interspersed with dialogue between dragon and child, vividly convey how the child’s attention constantly meanders. In a hectic spread, the youngster goes from searching for a Frisbee to researching Saturn to giving a gift to a pet dog. “NOW, why did I come in here?” the child wonders an hour later. The only thing that keeps the protagonist focused is cycling. Reading about bike maintenance leads to researching Leonardo da Vinci, who “had ideas about everything.” In a dream, Leonardo rescues the narrator from “a sea of shiny objects” and introduces such visionaries as Galileo and Mozart—members of the Center for Outside the Box Thinking, all with their own dragons. After Leonardo reminds the narrator, “You can choose what to ignore and what to explore,” the child realizes it’s OK to let some shiny objects pass: “Maybe the next one will change my life. Or the planet!” In an author’s note, Talbott wonders if he “was on the spectrum of what is now identified as ADHD.” Though that condition goes unmentioned in the main narrative, readers with ADHD will particularly empathize with the child’s curiosity and frustration. All will enjoy the clever text and animated illustrations.

Encouraging. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2026

ISBN: 9780593856772

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books

Review Posted Online: May 18, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
A WALK IN THE WORDS
by Hudson Talbott ; illustrated by Hudson Talbott

- BOOK REVIEW
PICTURING AMERICA
by Hudson Talbott ; illustrated by Hudson Talbott

- BOOK REVIEW
FROM WOLF TO WOOF
by Hudson Talbott ; illustrated by Hudson Talbott

bookshelf

ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

bookshelf

Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

bookshelf

IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

bookshelf

A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)