An imaginative and insightful masterpiece of poetic correspondence that invites readers to discover new connections.
In this collaboration from Newbery Honor winner Sidman and two-time Caldecott Honor–winning Sweet, epistolary poems give voice to natural pairings in ecosystems and human-made environments—bubbles to sky, bricks to school, and more.
Comprising 16 poems, the collection blends various forms to capture a series of conversations, each revealing deep truths about interdependence and perspective. From the sandy shore comes a baby turtle’s rhyming plea: “Dear Ocean, / We’ve waited and watched / till the moon grows bright, / till the night grows cool / and the time is right.” In another, an oak reassures its acorn, calling it a “plump promise.” The book’s genius lies in Sidman’s ability to transform these everyday connections into profound exchanges, creating lyrical dialogues that will prompt readers to see the world through curious eyes. Sweet amplifies the verse with her signature mixed-media collages, strategically using color to establish emotional resonance and varying scale to emphasize the difference in size between each of the paired voices. Sweet’s layering of materials visually reinforces the theme of interconnectedness, with compositional choices that guide the eye between corresponding elements. Sidman concludes with accessible instructions for aspiring writers to create their own poems and correspondences—a thoughtful addition that extends the work’s impact beyond its pages. Humans depicted are diverse.
An imaginative and insightful masterpiece of poetic correspondence that invites readers to discover new connections. (Picture book/poetry. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9780358334767
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
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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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
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