An enjoyable but sometimes-awkward reinterpretation of a classic children’s song.
Pigs party with a whole host of animal friends on a carousel at the zoo in Welton’s picture book.
The zoo is home to any number of attractions, but today Peg the pig is riding the carousel with friends. Readers can sing their way through the story to the tune of “Wheels on the Bus” as many different kinds of animals join the fun. After the platform on the carousel goes round and round and the poles go up and down, the horses jump in alongside the monkeys and gorillas. The music lilts, the elephants dance, and a festive atmosphere pervades the story’s setting. While the pandas, flamingos, and goats are able to climb directly onto the merry-go-round, “the eagle on the carousel swoops and flies as the cheetahs and zebras chase alongside.” This fun reinterpretation of a classic children’s song is at the center of Welton’s picture book, which is the follow-up to her Choo! Choo! Choo! The Train at the Zoo (2024). Preschoolers may love this romp despite how wordy it can be when it comes to describing the workings of a carousel. Welton often crams what could be multiple stanzas into one, changing the ending of each verse rather than keeping the repetition readers may expect from the original tune. Joubert’s illustrations are eye-catching and colorful, focusing mostly on the carousel and leaving much of the zoo itself to the reader’s imagination.
An enjoyable but sometimes-awkward reinterpretation of a classic children’s song.Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781964934235
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Blue Balloon Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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
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
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