A tender example of environmental stewardship.
A young Indonesian boy is torn between protecting the local butterflies or feeding his family.
Before moving far away for a job, Batu’s Bapak (Father) shows the youngster a secluded part of the forest teeming with stunning butterflies. Bapak urges Batu to keep the place a secret. The young narrator adheres to Bapak’s request, avoiding the area while playing with friends but returning on his own. The butterflies’ bold colors pop, and when Batu notices butterflies that have died, he takes them home and decorates the walls with them—a practice that continues when he lets his sister in on the family secret. A stranger offers to pay for one of his fallen butterflies, and Batu reluctantly agrees; with a new baby, his family needs the money. The demand for butterflies increases worldwide, word spreads quickly in the village, the secret location is leaked, and people show up with nets. “When my promise felt stronger than my hunger, I put my net down,” Batu notes. Quickly, his family realizes the environmental damage. Pathirathna and Shelvia provide a gentle example of environmental advocacy as Batu and his family build connections within their community to find a way to protect the butterflies. Shelvia relies on soft outlines and textures to create whimsical landscapes. An author’s note offers more context on the practice of butterfly collecting in Indonesia.
A tender example of environmental stewardship. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 12, 2026
ISBN: 9781954354456
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Creston
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2026
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...
Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
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