A gently presented suite of responses to help kids face fears and “just keep going.”
A mouse regulates his complicated emotions with guidance from a supportive group of animal pals.
A small rodent with giant ears has “BIG feelings.” When thunder and lightning scare him, a kindly rabbit suggests that they jump up and down together. The activity helps, though Mouse accidentally destroys a flower, which prompts another emotional reaction. (Guilt? Regret?) A nearby bird offers a hug, and Mouse feels much better. The prospect of traversing a creaky-looking bridge elicits fear, but Deer assures Mouse, “It will help if you just put one foot in front of the other.” When a bear cub fails to offer Mouse some berries, Mouse feels hurt. Butterfly’s answer: “Stop what you’re doing, pause, and breathe.” (And then the cub shares.) Later, Mouse ends up in a literally dark place as he struggles with his fear of failure. Owl tells him to close his eyes and picture “what you want.” After each solution comes the refrain “Just keep going.” Smith doesn’t touch on all big emotions—anger, pain, disgust, grief—but when it comes to frustration and, especially, fear, the regularity of this litany will be reassuring. The illustrations are greeting-card friendly, in soft earthy tones, with big-eyed, simplified animals and natural settings. Negative emotions appear as dark spikes, scribbles, bubbles, or clouds behind Mouse and trail off as they dissipate; many youngsters will find such literal imaging comforting and empowering.
A gently presented suite of responses to help kids face fears and “just keep going.” (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781728290300
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Toad and Little Blue Truck get ready for a hayride.
After the titular vehicle is loaded with hay, Toad is nowhere to be found. “Beep! Beep! Beep! Where are you, Toad?” asks Little Blue Truck. All the barnyard animals look for him. Sheep searches the meadow. Goose and Duck check the pond. Others pitch in, too, but Toad seems to have disappeared…until Hen hears snoring coming from the pile of hay in the back of Little Blue Truck. Although the text’s scansion is imperfect in places (adults may want to pre-read to ensure a smooth read-aloud), the bouncy meter and rhyming text nevertheless capture the energy of the search and the farmyard community’s concern for Toad’s safety, making this a solid storytime choice. Eye-catching illustrations with rich, fully saturated colors balance the right level of detail while still highlighting the animal that is the focus of each verse. By introducing one farm animal at a time, Schertle also helps the youngest readers begin to identify barnyard animals by name and understand their unique farm homes. Traditional animal sounds are part of the text, and listeners will add them to their vocabulary. It all ends with the promised hayride, bringing the tale to a joyous ending.
Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2026
ISBN: 9780063436121
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
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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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