An outstanding new chapter book with the cozy feel of a classic.
Hedgehog embarks on an unexpected adventure to rescue her friend Mutty.
Hedgehog and Mutty, two dear friends, “[spend] all their days together. Playing. Imagining. Dreaming.” That is, until the Terrible Storm whisks Mutty (who appears to be a stuffed dog) away from the tiny, midriver island they both live on. Aware that crying won’t solve anything, Hedgehog decides to set out on a rescue mission to bring her friend back. As Hedgehog searches for her lost friend, she encounters various characters such as Mole, who greets everyone she meets in a different language (French, German, Spanish, Arabic, and Korean), and Owl, who sprinkles lofty vocabulary (and definitions) into conversations. The remainder of the cast includes Hen and her Chicks, dapper Beaver, and a brown-skinned human girl named Annika Mae Flores. All together, they distinguish themselves by supporting Hedgehog in her friend’s rescue. Each personality bursts forth in Annika’s narration as the group assembles, acknowledges that their differences become their strengths, and forms a firm and committed community unit. Castillo’s endearing illustrations remind readers that friendships can be found in the most unexpected of places while their full-color softness balances Hedgehog’s action-packed adventures. Readers will appreciate the map shown in the beginning endpapers as they go back and trace Hedgehog’s journey. Challenging readers without overwhelming them, picture-book creator Castillo has achieved a gentle and triumphant pivot into chapter books.
An outstanding new chapter book with the cozy feel of a classic. (Fantasy. 5-9)Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6671-9
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
PROFILES
How needed, how refreshing to see a black girl learn to appreciate herself—lovely and informative.
A little girl learns to love and care for her hair.
Mack, young and black, does not love her hair. As a result of teasing, she tries to hide it. But Mack does love her neighbor Miss Tillie. Miss Tillie’s house has been a safe space since Mack was a toddler. So, naturally, Mack seeks refuge in Miss Tillie after being bullied by a classmate who states as fact that “Mack’s hair is always a mess.” West Indian Miss Tillie gives Mack a glass of sorrel and listens as Mack tells her about the long-term mockery she’s endured about her hair. Though dark-skinned Mack’s mother also appears to be black, she doesn’t know how to care for her daughter’s hair, and Mack asks Miss Tillie for help. Miss Tillie teaches Mack that her hair is like a garden: “And like every good garden, it must be cared for, every day.” The folk art–style illustrations lend this story an anytime, anyplace quality that leaves readers free to focus on the content. Although the text placement and type may occasionally distract, the illustrations evoke emotion, and endpapers showing different hairstyles on black girls of varying hues are especially well-done.
How needed, how refreshing to see a black girl learn to appreciate herself—lovely and informative. (caring for black hair, recipes) (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: April 3, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-8075-0923-4
Page Count: 37
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
If James Marshall’s George and Martha were not hippos and were both girls, they would be much like best friends Bink and Gollie in this charming early-reader series debut. Tall, quirkily formal Gollie says “Greetings”; the shorter, more casual Bink just says hello. Gollie uses words like “compromise” and “implore”; Bink needs to learn them fast to keep up. Three winsome short stories—“Don’t You Need a New Pair of Socks?,” “P.S. I’ll Be Back Soon” and “Give a Fish a Home”—illustrate the eminently surmountable challenges to Bink and Gollie’s friendship in rapid-fire dialogue that manages to be both witty and earnest. Fucile’s terrific, cartoonish artwork is expressive and hilarious—black-and-white scratchy lines and washes that effectively use spot color to highlight, say, alarmingly hideous rainbow socks or the faint underwater orange of a freshly liberated pet goldfish. One favorite wordless spread shows Bink holding up her goldfish bowl at the movie theater so her fish-friend can see Mysteries of the Deep Blue Sea… seated next to a mortified Gollie. More, please! (Early reader. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7636-3266-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2010
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