A gentle, sweet read-aloud that will need grown-ups to help very young readers grasp the philosophical concepts.
The huge world can be overwhelming to a tiny mouse unless it is determined to fulfill a quest.
Readers have no idea what that quest is until the very end as they follow the mouse through vast global locations, sometimes not seeing it at all, sometimes catching a glimpse in a corner or among rocks or in the sea, or on an old-style steam locomotive, or perhaps on a jet flying overhead, and always carrying and carefully protecting a large crumb. Under star-filled night skies, through sunrises and sunsets, the mouse travels over all manner of Earth’s landforms and waters. Klocek’s graphite-and-digital illustrations are stunning in their scope and visual impact. Double-page spreads of deep canyons, endless deserts, rivers and waterfalls, forests and oceans, and ice fields beautifully capture the mouse’s challenging journey. A few, very faint, vaguely drawn map details with a red line indicating the mouse’s progress occasionally appear; as there is not always enough detail to read them, readers may find them more distracting than illuminating. Single lines of large-print text name the sights, moving the brave mouse to its destination with a breathless and greatly admiring and encouraging tone. But those big things seem small because it’s all about the love and commitment that make the dangers and difficulties worthwhile.
A gentle, sweet read-aloud that will need grown-ups to help very young readers grasp the philosophical concepts. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-544-77477-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
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
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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