A congenial approach to encouraging awareness of and methods for protecting night skies.
In this illustrated children’s book, a puppy learns how to safeguard the night skies from light pollution.
Sagebrush, a tailless corgi puppy, lives in the Rocky Mountains with her dog parents, Maverick and Ginger, and Young Miss (her human owner) on a beautiful ranch. One night, Sagebrush wakes up suddenly and realizes it’s much darker outside than usual. She discovers that the ranch’s security light has burned out, and now the corgi can see “millions of stars brilliantly twinkling against the black velvet of the night sky.” She learns that such sights are rare now because of light pollution, and not just in cities. The ranch’s bright security light had obscured the stars, only visible now because the bulb burned out. Light pollution is bad for plants and animals because it upsets their natural day/night rhythms and ability to use celestial navigation. People, too, miss out; they can no longer study the constellations just by looking up at the night sky. When Mr. Electric Man arrives to replace the bulb, Sagebrush begs him not to. Luckily, he has a dark-sky shade he can install that reduces upward glare. Everyone on the ranch, especially Sagebrush, is delighted with the new shade. In this sixth installment of her series, Franks continues to address environmental issues mixed with fantasy elements—such as the Shuns, wise, gnomelike creatures rescued from habitat loss—making the message less preachy. The writing nicely captures Sagebrush’s sense of wonder at the newly dark sky: “For a few mysterious moments, time seemed to stand perfectly still as a thin cloud seemed to cloak itself around the moon.” Illustrator Visitacion contributes undistinguished, cartoonlike digital pictures that don’t reflect the setting’s lushness, though the dogs are cute.
A congenial approach to encouraging awareness of and methods for protecting night skies.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-66413-455-3
Page Count: 42
Publisher: Xlibris Corp
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
