Hope for more soon from debut author/illustrator Kung.
This feline queen knows how to care for her subjects—as long as they worship her by shouting her name.
NoFuzzball lives in total harmony with the subjects in her queendom. They see to her every need and shower her with presents. When she sees a new gift, a perfect queen-sized bed (which readers might recognize as an open suitcase), she plunks herself in it until they chant her name: “NoFuzzball!” But then they leave?! The nerve! Well, that gives the queen a chance for some alone time. When she wakes, they’re still not home! She wallows in sadness for a moment before she decides to be a gracious ruler. She makes them new beds, thoughtfully destroying the furniture for extra fluff. She brings them gifts of lovely dead mousies. She redecorates the whole of the queendom. When they return, her subjects greet her at the door shouting “Fuzzball!” Have they forgotten her name? No. Once they see the work she’s done…they remember, appropriately acclaiming her “NoFuzzball!” The fluffy black kitty gives preschool readers an early lesson in the unreliable narrator as she describes her relationship with her humans. In Kung’s illustrations, she’s an expressive, endearing little chunk of well-meaning evil. Her interracial human family is just as expressive, and the bright spot and full-bleed illustrations are entertaining from the first endpaper to the last.
Hope for more soon from debut author/illustrator Kung. (Picture book. 3-9)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-56542-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
This appealing work is an excellent addition to any emotional-intelligence shelf.
Author/illustrator Doerrfeld gives children a model for how to process difficult events and provide meaningful support to friends who need it.
Taylor is excited to build a block tower, but then a flock of birds swoops in and knocks it all down. Different animal friends try to help, in ways that cleverly mirror their nature: the bear shouts, the ostrich buries its head in the wreckage, and the snake hisses about revenge. But what Taylor (who is never referred to with gendered pronouns) really needs is to explore a whole range of emotional responses to loss, without being asked to perform any specific feeling. A cuddly rabbit shows up and just listens, giving Taylor—an expressive child with light skin, curly dark hair, and blue-and-white–striped one-piece pajamas—space for the whole process, going from grief to anger to resolution. The illustrations are spare yet textured, and the pace is excellent for reading aloud, with lots of opportunities for funny voices and discussion starters about supporting anyone through a hard time. Despite the obvious takeaway, this story doesn’t feel overly moralizing or didactic. Keeping the focus on the small tragedy of tumbled blocks makes it young-child–appropriate, with opportunities for deeper connections with an older audience.
This appealing work is an excellent addition to any emotional-intelligence shelf. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7352-2935-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2017
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