Readers already know what Millie learns: To everything there is a time and purpose, including fierceness; they will welcome...
Manning’s Millie returns with fierceness in check until an unwelcome visitor finds her chasing him “like bad luck.”
Millie, who once had fierceness-management issues, has brought them under control. She has been (in the words of her mother) a “sugar-pie,” which entitles her to a backyard “sleep out” with two friends and her dog. Millie plans the sleep out down to a T—which, even for a sugar-pie, is a recipe for trouble—and when her comrades and the dog don’t truck to her plans, she struggles to keep “the top on tight / to her inner fierce.” When a growl and then a snarl send all but Millie diving for cover, it’s time for the inner to seek outer expression. Even though it is only Vincent, the neighbor’s pug, snarfing some discarded gummy worms, all are glad when their fears are laid to rest. Manning’s understated free-verse text employs repetition and gently applied simile to get to the heart of Millie’s emotions. Her artwork is equally expressive, down to each ferociously messy dab of watercolor; it is also, as when Millie’s right eye begins to twitch after all the s’mores but one have vanished, touched by the spidery derangement of Ralph Steadman.
Readers already know what Millie learns: To everything there is a time and purpose, including fierceness; they will welcome this validation. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 29, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-160936
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: March 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2014
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
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2026
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
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