A meditation on memory, growth, and resilience that trusts young readers with difficult emotions.
Ruby the elephant—introduced in Applegate’s Newbery Medal–winning The One and Only Ivan (2012)—makes her picture-book debut.
Told entirely in Ruby’s voice, the story centers on the young pachyderm’s uncertainties around her Tuskday ceremony: a rite of passage that celebrates the appearance of an elephant’s front teeth. In the first-person narration, Ruby’s feelings—her anxieties about her emerging tusks, her traumatic memories of poachers, and her fears about growing up—all feel immediate. Judge’s watercolor illustrations are extraordinary, capturing the emotional landscape of elephant life through body language and expressive eyes. Daytime scenes at the sanctuary where Ruby lives are bathed in warm golds and greens; vignettes focus on some of her more intimate moments. A particularly stunning nighttime spread depicts Ruby gazing at a luminous moon, surrounded by her herd’s protective circle—the deep blues and silvery whites creating a sanctuary of light against darkness that mirrors the book’s central theme. The vertical lines of the trunks and soft-edged, massive elephant forms work together to create a sense of visual calm and safety, grounding Ruby’s emotional journey. Readers will organically absorb facts about tusks, mud baths, and herd behavior while also confronting deeper fears about loss and belonging. Applegate’s text may be a bit dense for the youngest listeners, but it serves as an effective introduction to the characters from her One and Only novels.
A meditation on memory, growth, and resilience that trusts young readers with difficult emotions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 17, 2026
ISBN: 9780063357785
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Storytide/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
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
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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