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DO YOU SEE ME?

Name: DO YOU SEE ME?
Author: LaRonda Gardner Middlemiss
ISBN: 9781250843050

by LaRonda Gardner Middlemiss ; illustrated by Reggie Brown ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 21, 2026

This celebration of childhood adventure and freedom is a breath of fresh air.

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Upon receiving affirming messages from a caregiver, a youngster surges in confidence.

Parent and child, both presenting Black and dressed for cool weather, walk along the shore, a small unleashed gray dog in train. On each spread, the little one asks, “Do you see me?” The adult responds affirmatively, listing in turn the many positive traits that the child displays: “Yes indeed, I see you helping friends in need,” “I see courage when you face fear,” “You fill my eyes. / I see adventure and surprise.” Meanwhile, Brown’s images depict the child comforting the dog after a crab claws at its paw, inching bravely across a suspended log, and excitedly venturing onto the rocks as the waves splash. When the parent turns the question to the child, asking, “Do you see you?” the little one responds with self-praise (“I see myself, warm and caring”) and eagerness for the future (“I’m ready to learn, to grow, to be”). On the penultimate spread, the two return home, where another parent embraces the first, rounding out an image of a loving, tightknit Black family. Middlemiss’ empowering verse has a simple rhyme scheme and makes for a pleasant read-aloud despite the inconsistent meter and the occasional forced rhyme. What Brown’s digital art lacks in warmth, it makes up for in its convincing rendering of a seaside town, with its cliffs, sparkling water, charming shops, and views of the horizon.

This celebration of childhood adventure and freedom is a breath of fresh air. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: April 21, 2026

ISBN: 9781250843050

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Review Posted Online: Nov. 8, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
I LOVE ME!
by LaRonda Gardner Middlemiss ; illustrated by Beth Hughes

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LOVE FROM THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR

by Eric Carle ; illustrated by Eric Carle ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 15, 2015

Safe to creep on by.

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Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.

In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.

Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap

Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE FOOD?
edited by Eric Carle

- BOOK REVIEW
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE BUG?
edited by Eric Carle

- BOOK REVIEW
MY FIRST I SEE YOU
by Eric Carle ; illustrated by Eric Carle

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)