A snowy ode that will take your breath away.
Poetically personified snow divulges the stealthy ways it supports and loves nature.
Hall opens by sharing that Lewis Carroll once pondered whether “‘snow loves the trees and fields…’ More than 150 years later, this is my answer.” And answer she does, with snow dramatically extolling the majesty of animals like the “regal stag” and “sly red fox” who revel in the chill. A consistent meter drives the verse narrative while internal rhymes add zip. Facts are sprinkled throughout, explaining how snow provides shelter and camouflage and serves as a spring water source. Hall switches gears, describing a summer spent longing for winter; she then wraps up cyclically by welcoming back first flakes. Because the language is so grand, readers might benefit from perusing the straightforward backmatter, which gives concrete examples of how snow can be a “home” or “blanket.” Earthy, expansive and astonishing, Martin’s winterscapes stun. His watercolors, pencil drawings, and digital collages have gravitas, from a realistically feathery snowy owl staring out unflinchingly to a fearsome father wolf carrying food for his offspring. Elegantly flowy trees and branches and dynamically perched, slightly hazy animals contrast gorgeously with the snow-speckled indigo skies. Even the snow is eye-catching. Rich with mottled layers of lustrous color, it’s an ideal base for the humming forest.
A snowy ode that will take your breath away. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2026
ISBN: 9780593904312
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House Studio
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2026
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
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
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