THE NIGHT BOX

Name: THE NIGHT BOX
Author: Louise Greig
ISBN: 978-1-328-85093-5

by Louise Greig ; illustrated by Ashling Lindsay ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 25, 2018

Max’s power to take charge of night and to celebrate as he lets day out “and a new song begins” is evocative, simple, and...

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The day is ending, but everything waits for Max to open the Night Box and let the darkness into the air.

“Day slips out of the leaves” as Max’s mother calls him in for bedtime. The gold light of late afternoon fills the sky, and the shadows are long. Max gets ready for bed, and his mother kisses him goodnight. Then the midnight-blue box in the corner of his room is ready to be opened with his key. Lindsay’s clean, delicate lines and subdued palette perfectly complement and interpret Greig’s precise, quiet, and lighthearted poetic text. Small creatures and flowers, tall trees with delicate leaves, and graceful, spare, sweeping landscapes surround Max as the dark flows around them. The language is delicious: “Night shakes itself into the trees.” The “night is huge,” encompassing not only Max’s house, but the pond, the forest, the ocean. And the “night is brave,” concealing and guarding a doe and her fawn. It confers gifts, matching up moon and pond, a fox and a rose, Max and “a bear and a soft, warm bed.” At every turn the darkness and the night seem to be big and mysterious yet magical and somehow intimate.

Max’s power to take charge of night and to celebrate as he lets day out “and a new song begins” is evocative, simple, and reassuring. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-328-85093-5

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarion Books

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
HOME OF THE WILD
by Louise Greig ; illustrated by Júlia Moscardó

- BOOK REVIEW
SWEEP
by Louise Greig ; illustrated by Júlia Sardà

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IT'S MY BIRD-DAY!

From the Pigeon series

by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2026

Familiarity breeds a birthday for the ages in this party worth attending.

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Don’t let the Pigeon ruin his own special day!

Anyone who has ever encountered the title character in any of his books—whether his first, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus (2003), or one of its many sequels—will understand that the bird’s innate self-love drives his every interaction. Little wonder, then, that he’s thrilled about his own “bird-day.” He has the hat. He has his “FANCY PLUMAGE.” And, best of all, he will get to blow out a candle “on my bird-day hot dog!” As he revels in the knowledge that this day is all for him, comeuppance is lurking. Someone has already blown out the bird-day candle—and eaten half the hot dog. It turns out that the Pigeon’s frenemy, the Duckling, has the same bird-day—as do a slew of newly hatched chicks. The Pigeon’s obligatory eight-panel freakout ensues. “What am I—invisible? I just want to be seen,” he whimpers, and when he receives some much-needed reassurance, he settles down and willingly shares his special day. While the switch from unapologetic narcissism to mature acceptance happens in the record-breaking span of two pages, the book is as enchanting as the Pigeon’s earlier outings. Even as it walks in the footsteps of its predecessors, there’s no denying the fun to be had.

Familiarity breeds a birthday for the ages in this party worth attending. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: March 31, 2026

ISBN: 9781454999621

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Union Square Kids

Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

- BOOK REVIEW
THE MONSTER AND PUPPET SHOW!
by Mo Willems & Kate Micucci ; illustrated by Mo Willems & Kate Micucci

- BOOK REVIEW
THE PIGEON WON'T COUNT TO 10!
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems

- BOOK REVIEW
WILL THE PIGEON GRADUATE?
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems

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HEDGEHOGS DON'T WEAR UNDERWEAR

by Marissa Valdez ; illustrated by Marissa Valdez ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2025

Sure to have little ones giggling.

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Jacques is a hedgehog with a big secret: “I wear real, bona fide underwear.”

Our narrator received a mysterious package one day; an illustration shows a pair of underwear tied to a balloon with a note “from the Universe” floating down into Jacques’ burrow. Hedgehogs don’t wear underwear, however. Will Jacques be shunned? Jacques worries but comes to a decision: “I have to wear them. When I do I feel special.” Determined, Jacques, who’s been invited to a party, makes a dramatic entrance, with undies in hand. Jacques’ declaration (“I WEAR UNDERWEAR”) is met with remarks of dismay, before another hedgehog opens up about similar fears and shows off a pair of cowboy boots. More hedgehogs introduce themselves with their own confessions. The story ends with Jacques unveiling a painting of the underwear in a gallery filled with hedgehogs wearing all sorts of attire. Though the book is simple in plot, characters, and setting, it wins in its balance of bathroom humor, dramatic storytelling, and celebrations of individual expression. French words are peppered throughout, adding to the fun without detracting from the story for those unfamiliar with the language. The cartoonish illustrations brim with fun; Valdez relies heavily on geometric shapes (triangle noses for the hedgehogs; huge circles for their eyes). Details such as speech bubbles and recurring turtle and snake characters contribute to the outlandish humor.

Sure to have little ones giggling. (Picture book. 3-5)