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MARIO MAKES A MOVE

Name: MARIO MAKES A MOVE
Author: Jill McElmurry
ISBN: 978-0-375-86854-2

by Jill McElmurry & illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 8, 2012

A charming story of friendship, dance moves, artistic fervor and squirrels.

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Mario is a squirrel who loves his dance moves, from the “Bowling Ball” to “Twirly Ballet Arms,” and his relatives assure him he is amazing.

He believes them. His friend, blue–tutu-and-glasses-sporting Isabelle, however, dismisses his dance moves as “nice:” “ ‘NICE?’ said Mario. ‘I think you mean amazing. Or astonishing, maybe.’ ‘Hmmm,’ said Isabelle.” When she informs Mario that anyone can have a move, he’s devastated. He decides his new creative pursuit will be finding and displaying sticks… amazing sticks. He labels his sticks “Scratchy,” “Twiggles” and “Plain Jane.” When Isabelle realizes she’s driven her friend to these sticky extremes, she feels bad about the “nice” and switches it to a “elegant.” She adds “graceful.” In a harmonious denouement, the two squirrels mash their dance moves and invent the “Even More Amazingly Amazing Amazer.” (“And everyone was amazed.”) In one sense the story is about pursuing one’s own passion, no matter what others say or don’t say about it. It’s also about a friend who realizes the power of the wrong word at the wrong time and takes it back. Warm, winning gouache illustrations reflect soft autumnal landscapes populated by cartoonish animals and are juxtaposed with comically elaborate diagrams of various dance moves, some detailed on cut-out graph paper.

A charming story of friendship, dance moves, artistic fervor and squirrels. (And squirrel facts!) (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: May 8, 2012

ISBN: 978-0-375-86854-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Feb. 21, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2012

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
MAD ABOUT PLAID
by Jill McElmurry ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

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BETTER THAN A TOUCHDOWN

by Jalen Hurts ; illustrated by Nneka Myers ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2026

Earnest and well meaning but not quite a touchdown.

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In Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Hurts’ motivational picture book, a youngster rebounds from disappointment.

As Jalen heads off on his first day of school, he daydreams about joining the football team, but his friend Trey soon breaks the bad news. The garden club needed more space for vegetables, so the football field was used for planting. There will be no football this year. Jalen is despondent, but his teachers Mrs. Lee and Mr. Barry and bodega owner Mr. Muhammad offer guidance that spurs him and his friends into positive action. They work to flip a nearby empty lot into a football field, with Jalen echoing his mentors’ adages. Once the field is complete, Jalen feels a swell of pride in his and his friends’ work. While the idea of kids working together to effect change is a laudable one, the bland, wordy storytelling won’t inspire young people or hold their attention. Tired, cliched inspirational comments peppered throughout often slow down the narrative, and many adult readers will find the premise—a school dropping a high-interest sports program in favor of a community garden—wildly unrealistic. Though the illustrations are colorful, with a Disney Junior charm, strange stylistic choices, such as signs with odd combinations of scribbles instead of letters, give them an unpolished look. Like Hurts, Jalen is Black; his community is diverse.

Earnest and well meaning but not quite a touchdown. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: March 10, 2026

ISBN: 9798217040308

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Flamingo Books

Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

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BEST BUNNY BROTHER EVER

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Tim Bowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 6, 2026

A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note.

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Little Honey Bunny Funnybunny loves baseball almost as much as she loves her big brother P.J.—though it’s a close-run thing.

Readers familiar with the pranks P.J. plays on his younger sibling in older episodes of the series (most illustrated by Roger Bollen) will be amused—and perhaps a little confused—to see him in the role of perfect big brother after meeting his swaddled little sister for the first time in mama’s lap. But here, along with being a constant companion and “always happy to see her,” he cements his heroic status in her eyes by hitting a home run for his baseball team and then patiently teaching her how to play T-ball. After carefully coaching her and leading her through warm-up exercises, he even sits in the stands, loudly cheering her on as she scores the winning run in her own very first game. “‘You are the best brother a bunny could ever have!’” she burbles. This tale’s a tad blander compared with others centered on P.J. and his sister, but it’s undeniably cheery, with text well structured for burgeoning readers. The all-smiles animal cast in Bowers’ cartoon art features a large and diversely hued family of bunnies sporting immense floppy ears as well as a multispecies crowd of furry onlookers equally varied of color, with one spectator in a wheelchair.

A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note. (Early reader. 6-8)