A useful tool for introducing a difficult topic to young readers.
A wolf in bird’s clothing tricks an innocent canary in this rhyming picture book about trafficking.
Nicolette is a young canary in Kiev, Ukraine. Instead of spending time with her family, she strives to be cool, making TikTok videos and going on adventures, bemoaning the fact that she has to do chores. When she complains to her friends and reveals her dreams of traveling, a wolf listens. When the wolf, dressed in a mask to look like a fellow bird, offers Nicolette a trip to America in exchange for work, she jumps at the chance. But the wolf is up to no good: “The Big Bad Wolf waited patiently and pretended until they got to their destination. / Nicolette had no idea of his true expectation.” Forced into servitude, Nicolette finally escapes by fleeing to the police, who send her home to her family. Mehlman-Orozco, a criminologist, opens with a lengthy note to parents, advising them to read the tale with their children. The author suggests that adults should use familiar story examples of villains who pretend to be good to explain how victims are tricked. The uneven rhymes that follow are laid out in text blocks, making the scansion hard to follow. Rodic’s illustrations featuring subdued tones and an animal cast give readers some distance from the story’s scary parts. But the inclusion of modern tools like a ring light keeps the effective cautionary tale grounded in reality.
A useful tool for introducing a difficult topic to young readers.Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-578-96529-1
Page Count: 52
Publisher: Break The Chain Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 8, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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