A simple story told with aplomb.
Tally Tuttle feels like she’s eaten two helpings of butterflies for breakfast on the first day of second grade.
Tally’s family just moved to the area one week ago for Mom’s new job, and Tally has been worried—what if this new place works out for everyone else in the family except her? At first, the kids in her new classroom make fun of her full name: Tallulah. But thankfully, Mrs. Norrell’s classroom proves to be “a really magical place,” just like Tally’s mother predicted. Once she’s there, the world suddenly changes around her, and Tally transforms into a turtle just long enough to experience what life would be like withdrawn inside a shell. As a turtle, Tally befriends a spider named Clementine, who sometimes shares Tally’s shell for protection. Eventually Tally decides to stop hiding and face the real-life challenge of making new friends head-on. This is an accessible tale that will appeal to young children looking for everyday coping strategies. Tally appears to be White; in Landy’s illustrations classmates appear to be of varied races and ethnicities. Holmes is a veteran YA writer, and this is both Book 1 of the Class Critters series and her chapter-book debut.
A simple story told with aplomb. (animal facts) (Fantasy. 6-9)Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-5567-5
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note.
Little Honey Bunny Funnybunny loves baseball almost as much as she loves her big brother P.J.—though it’s a close-run thing.
Readers familiar with the pranks P.J. plays on his younger sibling in older episodes of the series (most illustrated by Roger Bollen) will be amused—and perhaps a little confused—to see him in the role of perfect big brother after meeting his swaddled little sister for the first time in mama’s lap. But here, along with being a constant companion and “always happy to see her,” he cements his heroic status in her eyes by hitting a home run for his baseball team and then patiently teaching her how to play T-ball. After carefully coaching her and leading her through warm-up exercises, he even sits in the stands, loudly cheering her on as she scores the winning run in her own very first game. “‘You are the best brother a bunny could ever have!’” she burbles. This tale’s a tad blander compared with others centered on P.J. and his sister, but it’s undeniably cheery, with text well structured for burgeoning readers. The all-smiles animal cast in Bowers’ cartoon art features a large and diversely hued family of bunnies sporting immense floppy ears as well as a multispecies crowd of furry onlookers equally varied of color, with one spectator in a wheelchair.
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note. (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9798217032464
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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