A light, rhyming cautionary tale that happily swims along.
In Assini’s picture book, a pet-store fish tries changing the way she looks to attract an owner.
Little Lou is a happy blue-gray fish who likes having fun with her snail friend, Frank. On the eve of the pet fair, Lou’s glamorous pink tankmate, a fish named Priscilla, says that Lou needs to be dressy, poofy, frilly, shiny, and slinky to find an owner. But Lou’s attempts to do so only end up making her look ridiculous, as she ordinarily tends to be messy, goofy, silly, slimy, and stinky. Frank urges her to be herself, and as a result, both she and Frank find an owner. Mitchell tells Lou’s story through simple prose and an AABB rhyme scheme that mostly avoids forced word choices: “Out of the blue, there appears a pink fish. / ‘Call me Priscilla,’ she says with a swish.” The plot, though predictable, carries a worthwhile lesson that should appeal to youngsters. Yura’s full-color cartoon illustrations are constrained by the repetitive elements of the tank environment, but nevertheless serve the characters well. Lou, Frank, and Priscilla’s looks call to mind Finding Nemo, and the underwater colors, though subdued, have some sparkle. Brief images set outside the tank, depicting human society, reveal deft artistic touches, such as animal silhouettes at the pet fair.
A light, rhyming cautionary tale that happily swims along.Pub Date: Jan. 9, 2024
ISBN: 9798218305987
Page Count: 38
Publisher: LJM Communciations
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
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