A magnificently told tale of compassion for the natural world.
A story of love from the water’s edge.
A shy brown-skinned girl catches a lionfish in her small bucket before releasing it. The next day, she discovers a baby shark stranded in the tidepools. She worries for the shark’s safety—the heat is oppressive, and her brother Sam and his friends want to sell the creature to fishermen. Though the child tells the little shark to be still, the other kids spot the animal and plot to catch her. Summoning strength “from a deep place. An ancient place,” the protagonist clenches her fists and shouts, “NO!” Surprised, the others back off. The relieved narrator watches over the shark until dusk, when her parents and, eventually, Sam come help look after the animal until high tide comes and washes her back out. Marley’s luminescent illustrations bathe the pages in cerulean, cobalt, azure, sapphire, and teal as well as emerald, olive, chartreuse, and, of course, sea green, immersing readers in the watery setting and beckoning them to care. Where rusts and browns meet blues and greens, the shark and the girl wait…until purples, pinks, and deep indigoes envelop them both. Dulak takes a skillfully light touch to fostering environmental stewardship in young kids while showcasing the beauty of the Caribbean setting; in an author’s note, she explains that she drew inspiration from her dad’s memories of growing up in Barbados.
A magnificently told tale of compassion for the natural world. (what to do if you catch something in a tidepool) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 13, 2025
ISBN: 9781536239409
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Walker US/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.
Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.
Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781464268076
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2026
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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