Here a ha ha, there a ha ha—this one’s bound to elicit chuckles.
There are strange doings at Old MacDonald’s farm, so animal control comes to investigate.
Brown-skinned Officer Busby starts with an inquiry about a rabbit. “Little fellow in a blue coat?” Knowledgeable readers will recognize that suspect as Peter Rabbit, but that’s the wrong farm, as pale-skinned Old MacDonald, clad in overalls and a straw hat, points out. No, the criminal activity here is far worse. The cabbages have painted faces, corn’s been dumped in the pond, and “pizzas keep getting delivered to my goats” (“They love the boxes”). Someone’s drawn mustaches on the cows, the chickens are wearing funny hats, and the horses have zebra stripes. Bits of the usual refrain (“a moo-moo here, a moo-moo there”) show up in the dialogue, but Busby is all business. She knows a gang of “silly” creatures, which include a skunk, an armadillo, a porcupine, and a toad, frequenters of novelty shops where they buy their practical jokes. The officer also gives Old MacDonald bad news. Not only will the gang attack annually on April Fools’ Day, the day of the story’s events, but they’ll be back with more surprises on the nation’s birthday. Cleverly riffing on the popular children’s song and also giving the story wryly humorous Law & Order vibes, Teague’s text will work well as a read-aloud for group and one-on-one sharing alike. Colorful acrylic illustrations are amusingly exaggerated, especially the expressions on the human characters.
Here a ha ha, there a ha ha—this one’s bound to elicit chuckles. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 24, 2026
ISBN: 9781665990769
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This warm family story is a splendid showcase for the combined talents of Medina, a Pura Belpré award winner, and Dominguez,...
Abuela is coming to stay with Mia and her parents. But how will they communicate if Mia speaks little Spanish and Abuela, little English? Could it be that a parrot named Mango is the solution?
The measured, evocative text describes how Mia’s español is not good enough to tell Abuela the things a grandmother should know. And Abuela’s English is too poquito to tell Mia all the stories a granddaughter wants to hear. Mia sets out to teach her Abuela English. A red feather Abuela has brought with her to remind her of a wild parrot that roosted in her mango trees back home gives Mia an idea. She and her mother buy a parrot they name Mango. And as Abuela and Mia teach Mango, and each other, to speak both Spanish and English, their “mouths [fill] with things to say.” The accompanying illustrations are charmingly executed in ink, gouache, and marker, “with a sprinkling of digital magic.” They depict a cheery urban neighborhood and a comfortable, small apartment. Readers from multigenerational immigrant families will recognize the all-too-familiar language barrier. They will also cheer for the warm and loving relationship between Abuela and Mia, which is evident in both text and illustrations even as the characters struggle to understand each other. A Spanish-language edition, Mango, Abuela, y yo, gracefully translated by Teresa Mlawer, publishes simultaneously.
This warm family story is a splendid showcase for the combined talents of Medina, a Pura Belpré award winner, and Dominguez, an honoree. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6900-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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