A perfectly packaged—and perfectly funny—primer on situational ethics.
Big Gray Wolf wonders whether to spare the life of a lost rabbit.
Each full moon, the wolves must sing for the moon to ensure good luck on their hunt. Something of a loner, Big Gray Wolf steps away to howl on his own. Amid the sounds of the wolves’ “AAA-WOOO!” he hears a high-pitched “AAA-WAAA!”—and sees a tiny baby bunny. The youngster stops crying and gazes hopefully at Big Gray Wolf, who suddenly has a hard time following the Wolf Rule that “anyone found in the woods after nightfall [is] supposed to be eaten.” Adding to his moral dilemma is a note in the baby’s pocket, offering a “super delicious meal” in exchange for the return of “our dear little Bunkins.” A clever cost-benefit analysis (“What if they just gave him lettuce? Well, perhaps this bunny had a more appetizing brother or sister”) is followed by a hilarious sequence of the wolf braving myriad challenges to return Bunkins to his family—and perhaps to devour the hapless rabbits as well. Maliush’s stylized visuals depict a delightfully anthropomorphized cast, from large-snouted Big Gray Wolf to Bunny, who’s nearly all ears. Her thoughtfully crafted text and art validate kindness and generosity while simultaneously maintaining suspense and keeping anxiety at bay for younger readers. Meanwhile, she also humorously cajoles older readers to ponder complex themes such as questioning societal rules and assumptions and weighing selfishness against altruism.
A perfectly packaged—and perfectly funny—primer on situational ethics. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 17, 2026
ISBN: 9780735846142
Page Count: 32
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: Nov. 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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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