Captures the simple pleasures and quiet escape of a family’s winter camping trip.
A family of three goes on a winter camping trip in this wordless picture book.
Leaving their car, two parents and a child snowshoe in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota while pulling sleds filled with gear. Near a frozen, snow-covered lake, they set up camp. A hot tent (with a woodstove and stovepipe) keeps the family cozy overnight. Pulling on winter gear takes several spot illustrations scattered across a spread until finally the child is ready to greet the new day. The three snowshoe across the lake and through the woods, exploring, perusing the wildlife tracks they spy, and stopping for hot drinks. On their second night, they stand outside and echo the howls of the wolves. Readers leave them that evening snuggled up by the fire. The watercolor illustrations emphasize both the remoteness of the location and the season. Blues and whites dominate the double-page spreads, with cozy yellows for warmth and light. Perspectives change to give both close-up and big-picture views, the family tiny in the wilderness. The quiet is palpable. Close observers may spy some wildlife, but the focus is on the family’s adventure, which, while some may proclaim is boring, will thrill outdoorsy families, who may rush to plan their own wintry camping trip. The child and one of the parents have brown skin; the other parent’s skin is lighter. All have dark hair. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Captures the simple pleasures and quiet escape of a family’s winter camping trip. (Picture book. 3-10)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5179-1292-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Univ. of Minnesota
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book.
Ada Twist’s incessant stream of questions leads to answers that help solve a neighborhood crisis.
Ada conducts experiments at home to answer questions such as, why does Mom’s coffee smell stronger than Dad’s coffee? Each answer leads to another question, another hypothesis, and another experiment, which is how she goes from collecting data on backyard birds for a citizen-science project to helping Rosie Revere figure out how to get her uncle Ned down from the sky, where his helium-filled “perilous pants” are keeping him afloat. The Questioneers—Rosie the engineer, Iggy Peck the architect, and Ada the scientist—work together, asking questions like scientists. Armed with knowledge (of molecules and air pressure, force and temperature) but more importantly, with curiosity, Ada works out a solution. Ada is a recognizable, three-dimensional girl in this delightfully silly chapter book: tirelessly curious and determined yet easily excited and still learning to express herself. If science concepts aren’t completely clear in this romp, relationships and emotions certainly are. In playful full- and half-page illustrations that break up the text, Ada is black with Afro-textured hair; Rosie and Iggy are white. A closing section on citizen science may inspire readers to get involved in science too; on the other hand, the “Ode to a Gas!” may just puzzle them. Other backmatter topics include the importance of bird study and the threat palm-oil use poses to rainforests.
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3422-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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