A familiar but often enjoyable picture book.
This warmly illustrated picture-book series installment sets out to teach children the importance of manners and gratitude.
In Leigh’s follow-up to Brudders Learns How to Make Friends (2020), Brudders, a bear, awakens to find that his bunny friends are harvesting their most recent crop of carrots. They invite him to try one of them and allow him to take home as many as he likes, but as he leaves the fields, he knows that’s he’s forgetting something. With the help of his friend, a bird named Zeke, he learns what must be done and sets off to correct his mistake. The story is a simple morality tale that teaches the importance of saying thanks—a lesson most appropriate for children just starting preschool. It’s told in uneven verse that doesn’t always roll off the tongue, but it does occasionally provide readers with words whose stylizations clarify their meanings and tones (stretttttched) and also make it fun to read. Roberts’ warm, earth-toned ink-and-watercolor illustrations sometimes outshine the text. They vary in perspective, with a portrayal of a view through Brudders’ binoculars that’s clever in its use of negative space. Overall, the book offers little that’s new, but it comfortably joins the ranks of such works as Greg Foley’s Thank You Bear (2007) and Anna Dewdney’s Llama Llama Gives Thanks (2017).
A familiar but often enjoyable picture book.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-73479-833-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Brudders' Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes.
A lift-the-flap book gives the littlest trick-or-treaters some practice identifying partygoers under their costumes.
Little Blue Truck and his buddy Toad are off to a party, and they invite readers (and a black cat) along for the ride: “ ‘Beep! Beep! Beep!’ / says Little Blue. / ‘It’s Halloween!’ / You come, too.” As they drive, they are surprised (and joined) by many of their friends in costume. “Who’s that in a tutu / striking a pose / up on the tiniest / tips of her toes? / Under the mask / who do you see?” Lifting the flap unmasks a friend: “ ‘Quack!’ says the duck. / ‘It’s me! It’s me!’ ” The sheep is disguised as a clown, the cow’s a queen, the pig’s a witch, the hen and her chick are pirates, and the horse is a dragon. Not to be left out, Little Blue has a costume, too. The flaps are large and sturdy, and enough of the animals’ characteristic features are visible under and around the costumes that little ones will be able to make successful guesses even on the first reading. Lovely curvy shapes and autumn colors fade to dusky blues as night falls, and children are sure to notice the traditional elements of a Halloween party: apple bobbing, lit jack-o’-lanterns, and punch and treats.
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-77253-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
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BOOK REVIEW
Familiarity breeds a birthday for the ages in this party worth attending.
Don’t let the Pigeon ruin his own special day!
Anyone who has ever encountered the title character in any of his books—whether his first, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus (2003), or one of its many sequels—will understand that the bird’s innate self-love drives his every interaction. Little wonder, then, that he’s thrilled about his own “bird-day.” He has the hat. He has his “FANCY PLUMAGE.” And, best of all, he will get to blow out a candle “on my bird-day hot dog!” As he revels in the knowledge that this day is all for him, comeuppance is lurking. Someone has already blown out the bird-day candle—and eaten half the hot dog. It turns out that the Pigeon’s frenemy, the Duckling, has the same bird-day—as do a slew of newly hatched chicks. The Pigeon’s obligatory eight-panel freakout ensues. “What am I—invisible? I just want to be seen,” he whimpers, and when he receives some much-needed reassurance, he settles down and willingly shares his special day. While the switch from unapologetic narcissism to mature acceptance happens in the record-breaking span of two pages, the book is as enchanting as the Pigeon’s earlier outings. Even as it walks in the footsteps of its predecessors, there’s no denying the fun to be had.
Familiarity breeds a birthday for the ages in this party worth attending. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9781454999621
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
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