A solid introduction to autism for children.
Jackson and his friends, who are all neurodivergent, go on a field trip to a children’s museum in Jeffery and Laura May’s picture book.
Jackson, a young white boy, introduces himself as a child who likes soccer and having fun with his friends. He and his racially diverse pals are autistic. Lily “loves feeling squishy paint on her fingers” and wears headphones because loud noises can bother her. Martin communicates with a tablet that has symbols and pictures; he loves to dance and has the best laugh. Sofia likes science and doesn’t like interruptions. At the museum, Jackson gets so excited, he flaps his hands, which is called stimming. The other kids stim too: Lily hops or spins, Martin squeals and grunts, and Sofia taps her fingers. At the end, Jackson advises readers to “be kind to others,” offering the encouragement, “you can do this!” Jackson narrates the book, which makes the explanations of autism feel more friendly and authentic. The kids are generally depicted as being smiley and upbeat, indicating that children with autism can lead happy lives. Halionka’s colorful illustrations, which appear to be digital paintings, often show all four friends together, emphasizing their bonds; the wide, horizontal compositions also allow for interesting details at the museum, such as hanging terrariums, a dinosaur skeleton, and an ant colony display.
A solid introduction to autism for children.Pub Date: June 23, 2025
ISBN: 9798998821110
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Aug. 22, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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