An imaginative and original depiction of one of life’s everyday miracles.
A young dog-walker recalls the memorable experience of watching a chick hatch.
To inaugurate a new series created for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Yolen, who has often celebrated the natural world, provides a graceful poem reminiscent of the cumulative song “The Green Grass Grew All Around.” Illustrator Marstall sets this in a fantastical landscape with Seussian trees and surprising, pleasing tiny details, including humans, animals, oversized insects, and, far away, sailboats on an ocean. The dog-walker sets out just before sunrise; a waning crescent moon still shines when they reach Bird Hill. The tree is on the summit; a cutaway image on the bottom of the page showing the walkers’ path reveals its roots. Slowly, they close in on the tree, the limb, the twig, the nest, and the “bird at rest.” A striking spread shows a cloud of feathers and the barely visible chick, still in the egg. A later, wordless close-up of the emerging chick invites young readers and listeners to stop and wonder. There’s humor, too, when the hatchling fluffs his wings and stretches his legs. Then the point of view changes, moving from the observer to the chick, who looks around to see “the moon… / …and me.” Carefully crafted rhyming couplets beg to be read aloud again and again.
An imaginative and original depiction of one of life’s everyday miracles. (Picture book. 2-6)Pub Date: May 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-943645-02-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cornell Lab Publishing Group
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2016
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes.
A lift-the-flap book gives the littlest trick-or-treaters some practice identifying partygoers under their costumes.
Little Blue Truck and his buddy Toad are off to a party, and they invite readers (and a black cat) along for the ride: “ ‘Beep! Beep! Beep!’ / says Little Blue. / ‘It’s Halloween!’ / You come, too.” As they drive, they are surprised (and joined) by many of their friends in costume. “Who’s that in a tutu / striking a pose / up on the tiniest / tips of her toes? / Under the mask / who do you see?” Lifting the flap unmasks a friend: “ ‘Quack!’ says the duck. / ‘It’s me! It’s me!’ ” The sheep is disguised as a clown, the cow’s a queen, the pig’s a witch, the hen and her chick are pirates, and the horse is a dragon. Not to be left out, Little Blue has a costume, too. The flaps are large and sturdy, and enough of the animals’ characteristic features are visible under and around the costumes that little ones will be able to make successful guesses even on the first reading. Lovely curvy shapes and autumn colors fade to dusky blues as night falls, and children are sure to notice the traditional elements of a Halloween party: apple bobbing, lit jack-o’-lanterns, and punch and treats.
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-77253-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
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Familiarity breeds a birthday for the ages in this party worth attending.
Don’t let the Pigeon ruin his own special day!
Anyone who has ever encountered the title character in any of his books—whether his first, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus (2003), or one of its many sequels—will understand that the bird’s innate self-love drives his every interaction. Little wonder, then, that he’s thrilled about his own “bird-day.” He has the hat. He has his “FANCY PLUMAGE.” And, best of all, he will get to blow out a candle “on my bird-day hot dog!” As he revels in the knowledge that this day is all for him, comeuppance is lurking. Someone has already blown out the bird-day candle—and eaten half the hot dog. It turns out that the Pigeon’s frenemy, the Duckling, has the same bird-day—as do a slew of newly hatched chicks. The Pigeon’s obligatory eight-panel freakout ensues. “What am I—invisible? I just want to be seen,” he whimpers, and when he receives some much-needed reassurance, he settles down and willingly shares his special day. While the switch from unapologetic narcissism to mature acceptance happens in the record-breaking span of two pages, the book is as enchanting as the Pigeon’s earlier outings. Even as it walks in the footsteps of its predecessors, there’s no denying the fun to be had.
Familiarity breeds a birthday for the ages in this party worth attending. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9781454999621
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
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