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LOVE IS A SHAPE

Name: LOVE IS A SHAPE
Author: Kate Hoefler
ISBN: 9780593898666

by Kate Hoefler ; illustrated by Audrey Day ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 22, 2026

This singular offering is a twofer: It’s a seek-and-find also harboring a love poem.

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Rhymes initially about physical shapes turn into declarations of love.

“Sun is a sphere. / Arches are wings. / Love is the shape of a blanket and swing.” This rhyme corresponds with an illustration of what looks like a parent and child, both with tawny skin and dark hair, sitting on a swing as faraway birds (“arches”) fly before the sun (“sphere”). The words “Square is a dock. / Wavy is lake. / Love is the shape of the stories we make” are paired with an illustration of the parent and child enjoying a summer day with extended family and friends. As pages turn, the rhymes reference increasingly intricate geometric shapes, all of which readers should delight in hunting for. Characters recur in different combinations, and while most scenes find them appreciating one another’s company in the country, two members are shown celebrating over ice cream at a sweet shop (“City is rectangles. / Oval: balloons. / Love is the shape of a treat: ‘And two spoons’”). Hoefler’s rhymes capture many different moods and make clear that while not every moment in life is blissful (one image finds the mom and two kids mourning a pet bird), any day with love is a good one. Day’s digitally tweaked art has a chalky, carefully worked-at serenity—a sublime vehicle for the emotions this book is chasing.

This singular offering is a twofer: It’s a seek-and-find also harboring a love poem. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Dec. 22, 2026

ISBN: 9780593898666

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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THE COUCH IN THE YARD
by Kate Hoefler ; illustrated by Dena Seiferling

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IN THE DARK
by Kate Hoefler ; illustrated by Corinna Luyken

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NOTHING IN COMMON
by Kate Hoefler ; illustrated by Corinna Luyken

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THE PUMPKIN THIEF

From the Leaf Thief series

by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 28, 2026

More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.

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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

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SUN THIEF
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SNOW THIEF
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BISON AND THE BUTTERFLY
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nancy Leschnikoff

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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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)