I scream. You scream. We all scream for vanishing ice cream.
A sweet-eyed squirrel with magic aspirations is determined to prove their prowess…with a little help from a friend.
Squirrel introduces themself at the start as an expert in making snacks disappear by eating or hiding them. What Squirrel really wants to do, though, is use magic to make the food vanish entirely. When a stray ice cream cone is discovered, Squirrel seeks out the help of friend Bear. But what’s this? After being left out in the sun, the ice cream is gone! Drunk with power, Squirrel locates an empty ice cream truck and holds a magic show for a plethora of woodland creatures. Afterward, sugary goodness for all! “It turns out that we were all good at magic,” says Squirrel as ice cream of every kind disappears down bestiary gullets. Squirrel’s inability to tell when something has vanished due to magic rather than because it has melted or been eaten by Bear (or, in one funny scene, because it has wound up stuck to Bear's backside) soon wears thin, but there is real enchantment in the book’s illustrations. Small details fill the pages, yielding new things to see with every read and reread. Sugar cones make excellent hats, with readers treated to an adorable array of them. Glowing colors complement wonderful facial expressions. This tale merrily accompanies Sarcone-Roach’s other bear-related tales, The Bear Ate Your Sandwich (2018) and There Are No Bears in This Bakery (2019). (This book was reviewed digitally.)
I scream. You scream. We all scream for vanishing ice cream. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 20, 2023
ISBN: 9780593309858
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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