Quality storytelling and beautiful art allow a likable protagonist to shine.
A young boy helps raise money to bring an elephant to his town, but will he get to touch it like the other children do?
Frank can’t wait to welcome Miss Fancy to her new home in nearby Avondale Park. But a sign stops him: “No Colored Allowed.” He climbs a tree and tosses peanuts to Miss Fancy, but it isn’t close enough. He can’t bring himself to break the law by entering the park. He asks the Rev. Brooks what he can do. They decide to write a letter asking the city to allow their congregation to have a Sunday picnic at the park. They get plenty of signatures, and their request is approved, but then the Rev. Brooks brings the sad news to Frank that they won’t have the picnic after all, because “ ‘there could be trouble.’…‘Trouble’ meant black people could be hurt or worse.” Finally, Frank ingeniously finds a way to lead Miss Fancy out of the park and then back. For returning her, he is rewarded with his dream. Readers will feel for Frank from the first page; his singular goal is a brilliant vehicle for making the injustice of segregation concrete for young readers while telling an interesting story based on historical events (as described in an author’s note). Holyfield’s skillful artwork uses complex color blends, light, and shadow with stylized form to create memorable characters and scenes. Unfortunately, while the upbeat ending is good for Frank, it elides the decades of Jim Crow that followed the events of the story.
Quality storytelling and beautiful art allow a likable protagonist to shine. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-399-54668-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
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)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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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