All readers will find the handsome illustrations a wonder, while Tove Jansson enthusiasts will adore the homage.
In this tribute to the life of Moomin author Tove Jansson, a young girl pursues five naughty, troll-like creatures.
Tove arrives at her summer home, where Moomin-like drawings adorn the wall. She begins exploring the striking yet desolate island, a prominent setting in Jansson's life and work. Here, the semi-biographical elements diverge into a fantasy that, per Soloy’s author’s note, was “inspired by Tove’s life and the stories she wrote about her own childhood” (readers will need to consult the backmatter to make that connection). Tove visits a friend—a small, hairy brown creature—to care for his five wild daughters, all “tiny as shells.” A gust of wind blows the youngsters away, and Tove follows, picking up treasures and musing about the island’s mercurial nature before finally locating the wayward girls. She returns home, soaked but satisfied, to her mother’s warm sweater and “piping hot pancakes.” The narrative is pleasingly crisp yet contemplative; Soloy describes salvageas “a gift the sea gives you” and asks readers to “imagine never getting soaked to the bone and then getting dry again…How dreadful!” But it’s her rugged, elemental digital illustrations that steal the show. Thick black outlining and gorgeous, darkly atmospheric, Jansson-inspired backgrounds of stormy skies and sea contrast against slashes of light and warm, colorful domestic scenes.
All readers will find the handsome illustrations a wonder, while Tove Jansson enthusiasts will adore the homage. (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2024
ISBN: 9781774883150
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts.
In this latest slice in the Food Group series, Humble Pie learns to stand up to a busy friend who’s taking advantage of his pal’s hard work on the sidelines.
Jake the Cake and Humble Pie are good friends. Where Pie is content to toil in the background, Jake happily shines in the spotlight. Alert readers will notice that Pie’s always right there, too, getting A-pluses and skiing expertly just behind—while also doing the support work that keeps every school and social project humming. “Fact: Nobody notices pie when there’s cake nearby!” When the two friends pair up for a science project, things begin well. But when the overcommitted Jake makes excuse after excuse, showing up late or not at all, a panicked Pie realizes that they won’t finish in time. When Jake finally shows up on the night before the project’s due, Pie courageously confronts him. “And for once, I wasn’t going to sugarcoat it.” The friends talk it out and collaborate through the night for the project’s successful presentation in class the next day. John and Oswald’s winning recipe—plentiful puns and delightful visual jokes—has yielded another treat here. The narration does skew didactic as it wraps up: “There’s nothing wrong with having a tough conversation, asking for help, or making sure you’re being treated fairly.” But it’s all good fun, in service of some gentle lessons about social-emotional development.
A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780063469730
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
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