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RAINBOWS, STARS, AND APPLES

Name: RAINBOWS, STARS, AND APPLES
Author: Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie
ISBN: 9781592704965

by Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie ; illustrated by Mirlande Jean-Gilles ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 13, 2026

A true balm for overscheduled parents and their children.

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Dr. Maya Jones is called many things by many people, but the name she hears the most? Mommy.

Mommy juggles plenty of responsibilities: teaching classes, grading papers, and raising young Rosa. When Daddy goes out of town on business, Mommy’s plate is fuller than ever. As Rosa attempts to prolong bedtime one night, Mommy at last reaches her breaking point, and tears begin rolling down her cheeks. Like countless parents before her, though, she takes a deep breath and soldiers on, singing a song for Rosa about the things that bring her calm: rainbows, the stars she loves to observe from the beach, and the apples the family enjoys picking in fall. Eventually mother and child snuggle up, falling asleep together. Working parents the world over will rejoice in this deeply empathetic story of the struggles—and joys—of balancing family life with a demanding career while also making time for self-care. Tallie’s text blends a winsome, folktale-esque flair (“Once upon a time there was a Mommy”) with frank acknowledgment of the realities of childcare. Her prose pairs beautifully with Jean-Gilles’ stunning cut-paper collage art, showcasing the deep love between mother and child. The visuals have a naïve look (the families’ facial expressions are conveyed with simple dots and rounded lines), with images set against textured backgrounds that vary in hue. The protagonists present Black.

A true balm for overscheduled parents and their children. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2026

ISBN: 9781592704965

Page Count: 44

Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books

Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: today

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
WE GO SLOW
by Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie ; illustrated by Aaron Becker

- BOOK REVIEW
LAYLA'S HAPPINESS
by Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie ; illustrated by Ashleigh Corrin

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK LOST AND FOUND

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 18, 2026

Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)