An engaging celebration of the differences that make us unique.
Two mushroom pals—one introverted, the other outgoing—find ways to honor each other’s personalities.
Fritz, a chanterelle, enjoys hanging out with friends, but he also values time spent alone. His bestie, Pip, an exuberant fly agaric, loves being the center of attention—the more friends, the merrier. Fritz sometimes wishes he could be more like his BFF and decides to “try having a very Pip-like day.” The friends start the following morning with “a giant game of berryball.” Then, accompanied by their pals, they take a swim in the puddle pool, make flower chains in the meadow, and blow bubbles in the violet patch. Fritz begins to flag, but Pip’s eager for a big game of hide-and-seek. Fritz finds an oak tree cavity to hide in, and when he’s discovered, replies, “Actually…I don’t think I’m ready to be found yet.” But after time alone, Fritz rejoins the group, feeling recharged. The day ends with a stop at the ice cream shop, where Fritz orders his favorite flavor, rose hip. In a sweet turnabout, Pip (who loves blackberry bramble more than anything) commemorates their friendship by also ordering Fritz’s fave. Laudably, Garrity-Riley’s introverted protagonist never feels pressured to change his nature; his pals allow him to be himself. Charming illustrations alternate among full- and double-page spreads and multi-paneled pages, providing plenty of winsome vignettes featuring subterranean mushroom homes, woodland flowers, and forest trees.
An engaging celebration of the differences that make us unique. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: July 7, 2026
ISBN: 9780735264335
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Sure to have little ones giggling.
Jacques is a hedgehog with a big secret: “I wear real, bona fide underwear.”
Our narrator received a mysterious package one day; an illustration shows a pair of underwear tied to a balloon with a note “from the Universe” floating down into Jacques’ burrow. Hedgehogs don’t wear underwear, however. Will Jacques be shunned? Jacques worries but comes to a decision: “I have to wear them. When I do I feel special.” Determined, Jacques, who’s been invited to a party, makes a dramatic entrance, with undies in hand. Jacques’ declaration (“I WEAR UNDERWEAR”) is met with remarks of dismay, before another hedgehog opens up about similar fears and shows off a pair of cowboy boots. More hedgehogs introduce themselves with their own confessions. The story ends with Jacques unveiling a painting of the underwear in a gallery filled with hedgehogs wearing all sorts of attire. Though the book is simple in plot, characters, and setting, it wins in its balance of bathroom humor, dramatic storytelling, and celebrations of individual expression. French words are peppered throughout, adding to the fun without detracting from the story for those unfamiliar with the language. The cartoonish illustrations brim with fun; Valdez relies heavily on geometric shapes (triangle noses for the hedgehogs; huge circles for their eyes). Details such as speech bubbles and recurring turtle and snake characters contribute to the outlandish humor.
Sure to have little ones giggling. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9781250814388
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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