An inventive take on a familiar struggle.
Despite plentiful encouragement and direction, a young child never quite makes it out the door for a trip to the park.
Blond-haired, pale-skinned, pajama-clad Sid is lounging about when an out-of-sight caregiver encourages the youngster to begin getting ready. Sid’s clothing appears in a chaotic whirl and includes the expected (socks, shirt, etc.), along with more intriguing accessories, like tie-on wings and a tail. Breakfast becomes an equally complicated and fanciful experience, with a (presumably imaginary) Rube Goldberg–esque milk delivery system and a high dive into the cereal bowl. Tooth brushing involves an art project, and the caregiver’s instructions to pack a single toy turns into a bag stuffed to the brim. Savvy readers and listeners won’t be surprised that Sid still isn’t ready to leave without a (remarkably messy) trip to the bathroom. The almost-outing is permanently scuttled by a revelation that suggests that the morning’s implied stress, if not the actual events, could have been neatly avoided. This final twist may amuse or annoy. Prompts from the off-the-page adult are brisk and to the point, while Sid’s minimal responses are believably childlike. The matter-of-fact text contrasts nicely with the frenetic activity pictured, bringing a sense of mischief and fun to a situation kids and adults know all too well. Flat, cartoon-style illustrations vary in size and format, from full-page pictures to small vignettes and multipaneled drawings. Colors are muted, with yellow, orange, and blue predominant.
An inventive take on a familiar struggle. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2026
ISBN: 9781419771095
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
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)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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