The small hero’s grit and happy ending guarantee another success for this popular author and illustrator duo.
Jonty Gentoo, a brave, determined zoo penguin, embarks on an epic journey.
When Jonty Gentoo hears about penguin colonies at the South Pole, he yearns to go there. Eventually he escapes, leaving his loving aunts (no parents are mentioned) and caring keepers in search of adventure. Unclear on the concept of a geographic pole (he’s initially confused when he encounters a flagpole, a barge pole, and a tent pole) and tired of walking, he jumps into the sea and delightedly swims through sparkling, food-filled waters. But when he emerges onto the ice, he finds no penguins, even after weeks pass. Bearded seals threaten to eat him, and the polar bear who saves him breaks the news: Jonty has traveled north. A tern accustomed to globe-spanning migration offers guidance, and “the bird in the sea and the bird in the air” travel south. Exhausted, Jonty lucks onto an Antarctic expedition ship and is taken aboard. On land he sees emperor and Adélie penguins and finally a “heartwarming huddle of gorgeous gentoos.” The story is heartwarming, too, and the rhythms rock us through the miles of migration with reassuring and spot-on rhymes. Jonty and the bear are accurately depicted, though slightly anthropomorphized. Scheffler’s firmly outlined art gives humans (who vary in skin tone) flat profiles but depicts whales, swordfish, owl, seals, and more in beautiful color and detail.
The small hero’s grit and happy ending guarantee another success for this popular author and illustrator duo. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781546134206
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
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
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
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