If expectations are modest, this latest addition to the series is mildly amusing.
A pampered, plump pussycat resists frosty fun.
Once again, the adorable but recalcitrant Flubby asserts his individuality. His devoted brown-skinned young owner struggles to please him despite his obstinacy. Like most felines, Flubby finds winter trying. When it snows “a little,” then “a lot,” the child wants to play in the wet white stuff, but Flubby finds it too cold—first, for his feet, then for his back and head. Each time, he retreats to the warm house. The child resourcefully produces tiny kitty boots, a coat, a hat, and a scarf. Finally, properly enveloped, Flubby is not too cold, does not go back inside, and plays in the snow while his owner creatively constructs a snow-cat. Compared to the earlier books in the series, which use characteristic cat behavior to set up the surprise ending, this one finishes anticlimactically, not to say unrealistically. (A cat docilely allowing himself to be repeatedly dressed up is rare indeed, and the cat’s back half is still bare and presumably cold.) But the words are simple and repetitive, and the pictures are engaging. Flubby’s perfectly round golden eyes and ballooning belly will evoke smiles, and when Flubby is depicted sitting with rear legs splayed and a dubious expression on his face, readers might laugh despite the predictable text.
If expectations are modest, this latest addition to the series is mildly amusing. (Easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2023
ISBN: 9780593523391
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A charming tale of an athlete who may not steal any bases but who will certainly steal readers’ hearts.
Ohtani, pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, teams up with Blank and Liem to tell the story of how his dog, Decoy, threw out a ceremonial first pitch.
It’s a big day! Decoy leaps “off the bed. Then back onto the bed. Then off the bed.” The enthusiastic pup heads outside to practice with his lucky baseball but is quickly distracted by squirrels (“we’ll play later!”), airplanes (“flyin’ high!”), and flowers (“smell ya soon!”). Dog and pitcher then head to the ballpark. In the locker room, Decoy high-paws Shohei’s teammates. It’s nearly time! But as Shohei prepares to warm up, Decoy realizes that he’s forgotten something important: his lucky ball. Without it, there will be “no championships, no parades, and no hot dogs!” Back home he goes, returning just in time. With Shohei at the plate, Decoy runs from the mound to his owner, rolling the ball into Shohei’s mitt for a “Striiiiike!” Related from a dog’s point of view, Ohtani and Blank’s energetic text lends the tale a sense of urgency and suspense. Liem’s illustrations capture the excitement of the first day of baseball season and the joys of locker room camaraderie, as well as Shohei and Decoy’s mutual affection—even when the ball is drenched in slobber, Shohei’s love for his pet shines through, and clearly, Decoy is focused when it matters.
A charming tale of an athlete who may not steal any bases but who will certainly steal readers’ hearts. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9780063460775
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor
Having surveyed worms, spiders, flies, and head lice, Gravel continues her Disgusting Critters series with a quick hop through toad fact and fancy.
The facts are briefly presented in a hand-lettered–style typeface frequently interrupted by visually emphatic interjections (“TOXIN,” “PREY,” “EWWW!”). These are, as usual, paired to simply drawn cartoons with comments and punch lines in dialogue balloons. After casting glances at the common South American ancestor of frogs and toads, and at such exotic species as the Emei mustache toad (“Hey ladies!”), Gravel focuses on the common toad, Bufo bufo. Using feminine pronouns throughout, she describes diet and egg-laying, defense mechanisms, “warts,” development from tadpole to adult, and of course how toads shed and eat their skins. Noting that global warming and habitat destruction have rendered some species endangered or extinct, she closes with a plea and, harking back to those South American origins, an image of an outsized toad, arm in arm with a dark-skinned lad (in a track suit), waving goodbye: “Hasta la vista!”
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor . (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77049-667-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
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