by Margaret McNamara ; illustrated by Kerascoët ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2025
A botanical wonder indeed.
A nature-loving kid becomes the most lush garden in the neighborhood.
Daisy, a “born naturalist,” started composting baby food when she was just a year old, and she began sleeping on leaves at age 3. Her later years brought on extensive experimentation. Her greatest idea yet is “rewilding” herself, letting nature literally grow on her. At first, no one notices the moss behind her ears, the ferns on her toes, or the yarrow around her ankles. But soon the “blooming miracle” is apparent to all. Her parents enlist green-thumbed Auntie Betsy’s help. Making a home in the family garden, Daisy thrives under her aunt’s tutelage and care. When a neighbor wishes that the whole block looked like Daisy, she uproots herself and starts planting—just as she’d always planned. McNamara’s latest offers an engaging entry point into conversations about rewilding and biodiversity. Countless plant puns sprout up on each page, adding delightful bits of humor. Kerascoët’s full-color illustrations expertly set the mood, starting with a muted palette that explodes with color—a vibrant reminder of nature’s beauty. Stellar pacing helps readers appreciate the beauty of individual flora and fauna while building vocabulary. Daisy is tan-skinned; one parent is light-skinned, and the other is brown-skinned, as is Auntie Betsy. Backmatter provides more context on rewilding, the process of restoring land to its wild, uncultivated state.
A botanical wonder indeed. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 1, 2025
ISBN: 9780593125670
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House Studio
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
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by Margaret McNamara & Daniel Bernstrom ; illustrated by G. Brian Karas
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by Kelly Corrigan & Claire Corrigan Lichty ; illustrated by George Sweetland ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 3, 2025
A thoughtful role model for aspiring inventors.
In this collaboration from mother/daughter duo Corrigan and Corrigan Lichty, a youngster longs to quit the soccer team so she can continue dreaming up more inventions.
Marianne, a snazzily dressed young maker with tan skin, polka-dot glasses, and reddish-brown hair in two buns, feels out of place on the pitch. Her soccer-loving dad signed her up for the team, but she’d much rather be home tinkering and creating. One day she feigns illness to get out of practice (relying on a trick she learned from the film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) and uses her newfound time to create a flying machine made from bath towels, umbrellas, cans, and more. Eventually, her dad catches wind of her deception, and she tells him she prefers inventing to playing soccer. Immediately supportive, he plops a pot on his head and becomes Marianne’s tinkering apprentice. Told in lilting rhymes, the story resolves its conflicts rather speedily (Marianne confesses to hating soccer in one swift line). Though the text is wordy at times, it’s quite jaunty, and adults (and retro-loving kids) will chuckle at the ’80s references, from the Ferris Bueller and Dirty Dancing movie posters in Marianne’s room to the name of her dog, Patrick Swayze. True to Marianne’s creative nature, Sweetland surrounds her with lots of clutter and scraps, as well as plenty of bits and bobs. One never knows where inspiration will strike next.
A thoughtful role model for aspiring inventors. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9780593206096
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
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by Kelly Corrigan ; illustrated by Stacy Ebert
by Jennifer Ward ; illustrated by Steve Jenkins ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 18, 2014
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers.
Echoing the meter of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Ward uses catchy original rhymes to describe the variety of nests birds create.
Each sweet stanza is complemented by a factual, engaging description of the nesting habits of each bird. Some of the notes are intriguing, such as the fact that the hummingbird uses flexible spider web to construct its cup-shaped nest so the nest will stretch as the chicks grow. An especially endearing nesting behavior is that of the emperor penguin, who, with unbelievable patience, incubates the egg between his tummy and his feet for up to 60 days. The author clearly feels a mission to impart her extensive knowledge of birds and bird behavior to the very young, and she’s found an appealing and attractive way to accomplish this. The simple rhymes on the left page of each spread, written from the young bird’s perspective, will appeal to younger children, and the notes on the right-hand page of each spread provide more complex factual information that will help parents answer further questions and satisfy the curiosity of older children. Jenkins’ accomplished collage illustrations of common bird species—woodpecker, hummingbird, cowbird, emperor penguin, eagle, owl, wren—as well as exotics, such as flamingoes and hornbills, are characteristically naturalistic and accurate in detail.
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers. (author’s note, further resources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2116-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
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by Jennifer Ward ; illustrated by Robin Page
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by Jennifer Ward ; illustrated by Alexander Vidal
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by Jennifer Ward ; illustrated by Lisa Congdon
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