The story ends on a perfect note of triumph, but it might be a better book if it were a touch less perfect.
There are no easy victories in life, but no one has told the author. Dogs talk all the time in children’s books, but they hardly ever speak a foreign language. Samson is a police dog who doesn’t obey. He was trained in Israel, where all the commands were given in Hebrew. In the United States, everyone talks to him in English—except for one boy named Tommy. “In Israel,” Greene writes, “his name was Tomer, which means ‘palm tree.’…Now it was easier to be Tommy.” Whenever he speaks up, the other students snicker and tell him he talks funny. You already know what will happen next: Samson will refuse to stop barking. Tommy will calm him down with a word or two of Hebrew. The other kids will stop laughing. The problem is that these things happen all at once. The instant the dog quiets down, a student is saying, “Maybe you could teach us Hebrew.” This story is, of course, a fable about being yourself, but it doesn’t need to move at the speed of a fable. Everything in the book is plausible—it’s based on a true story, according to the author's note—but at this pace it feels about as real as a talking dog.
The story ends on a perfect note of triumph, but it might be a better book if it were a touch less perfect. (English/Hebrew dog commands) (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7613-7497-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An instructive tale about big feelings, lightened up by a furious kid’s theatrics.
An angry child attempts to calm down.
A kid with paper-white skin, clad in a blue dress and striped tights, makes an absurd request: “Can we get a pet penguin, name it Marshmallow, and feed it carrots?” Mom, off-stage, says simply, “Not today,” and the tot transforms into a rather odd creature: a spicy nugget! The nugget is imperfectly ovoid in form, with red rosy cheeks, rage-filled dot-eyes, and a spiraling black-hole mouth. The sight gag works beautifully: When one feels truly angry, all poise disappears, leaving only a flailing ball of rage. Our protagonist hurls a teddy bear, unsuccessfully tries out a list of calming methods, and finally retreats to bed, where “I can feel my breathing; I know that I am safe.” The youngster reverts back to human form, and Mom arrives with kind words: “You are not your big feelings. You are not your angry thoughts.” The takeaway is unmistakable, especially at the story’s conclusion: It’s OK to get mad and important to practice coping strategies. The young narrator expresses emotion with fabulous vigor, though the story’s lilting rhyme scheme occasionally distracts from these outbursts with cuteness. Nonetheless, this increasingly enraged nugget-child is irresistible; anyone who’s grappled with overwhelming emotions will relate—in a word, everyone.
An instructive tale about big feelings, lightened up by a furious kid’s theatrics. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2026
ISBN: 9798217042142
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026
SEEN & HEARD
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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