Modeling the key to making friends, this gentle tale wields its messaging with a whisper rather than a thump.
What’s the point of being the best when no one talks to you at all?
Bob, a hulking blue bear sporting a yellow knit hat and red-and-yellow striped sweater, doesn’t need anyone to tell him that he’s the biggest, strongest, and smartest guy around. After all, he’s perfectly comfortable telling everyone else. No one questions Bob. Enter Bill, a bespectacled, diminutive badger, equally into sweaters and knit caps, who has nothing but questions on his mind. To Bob’s bafflement, Bill proceeds to ask everyone he encounters pertinent queries about their life and work. A confrontation is inevitable, but when Bill introduces himself, he asks Bob a slew of unexpected questions about his workout routines, favorite trails, and more. Bob is so taken aback by Bill’s interest that he begins to reciprocate by posing questions of his own. Now the bear once filled to the brim with braggadocio comes to understand that the most rewarding thing of all is getting to know other people. While Bob’s transformation feels a bit too instantaneous, readers will hardly care thanks to the good-natured telling of the tale. Especially delightful is Hodgson’s variety of knit headwear and colorful characters, giving the pages a jaunty, vibrant feel throughout.
Modeling the key to making friends, this gentle tale wields its messaging with a whisper rather than a thump. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
ISBN: 9780593858943
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Rocky Pond Books/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts.
In this latest slice in the Food Group series, Humble Pie learns to stand up to a busy friend who’s taking advantage of his pal’s hard work on the sidelines.
Jake the Cake and Humble Pie are good friends. Where Pie is content to toil in the background, Jake happily shines in the spotlight. Alert readers will notice that Pie’s always right there, too, getting A-pluses and skiing expertly just behind—while also doing the support work that keeps every school and social project humming. “Fact: Nobody notices pie when there’s cake nearby!” When the two friends pair up for a science project, things begin well. But when the overcommitted Jake makes excuse after excuse, showing up late or not at all, a panicked Pie realizes that they won’t finish in time. When Jake finally shows up on the night before the project’s due, Pie courageously confronts him. “And for once, I wasn’t going to sugarcoat it.” The friends talk it out and collaborate through the night for the project’s successful presentation in class the next day. John and Oswald’s winning recipe—plentiful puns and delightful visual jokes—has yielded another treat here. The narration does skew didactic as it wraps up: “There’s nothing wrong with having a tough conversation, asking for help, or making sure you’re being treated fairly.” But it’s all good fun, in service of some gentle lessons about social-emotional development.
A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780063469730
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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