A comedic hit, especially for older siblings.
A 2-year-old acts like a typical toddler in this debut picture book that offers a humorous, motivational riff on the phrase “you only live once.”
The narrator, who delivers encouragement like a keynote speaker, begins with the title phrase, which is repeated throughout the tale. As the cheerful toddler—rosy-cheeked and wide-eyed in Arumba’s soft digital cartoons—wakes the dark-skinned father and lighter-skinned mother, the narrator urges: “Start each day by witnessing / the beauty of the sunrise.” Each moment of the day is given another aphorism, moving from only eating food you like at breakfast to trying new tastes at playtime—as a pet’s tail ends up on the toddler’s tongue. The advice is frequently paired with illustrations that belie the positive tone: Speaking one’s mind becomes shouting and throwing things; embracing art is shown as drawing on walls. Despite the misbehavior, the child, who wears a jumper but is never gendered in the text, is surrounded by love. Two-year-olds aren’t likely to recognize the humor in the contrasting text and art, but older readers—especially children with younger siblings—will feel they are in on the joke. Parents may be the most amused of all. Arumba’s art is cheerful throughout and supplies just as much storytelling as Costello’s accessible text. The naughty toddler faces no consequences here; instead, there’s a sense that this mischief, too, shall pass. The repeated title phrase may encourage even the youngest lap readers to chime in.
A comedic hit, especially for older siblings.Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73-683950-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Canette Books
Review Posted Online: July 8, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts.
In this latest slice in the Food Group series, Humble Pie learns to stand up to a busy friend who’s taking advantage of his pal’s hard work on the sidelines.
Jake the Cake and Humble Pie are good friends. Where Pie is content to toil in the background, Jake happily shines in the spotlight. Alert readers will notice that Pie’s always right there, too, getting A-pluses and skiing expertly just behind—while also doing the support work that keeps every school and social project humming. “Fact: Nobody notices pie when there’s cake nearby!” When the two friends pair up for a science project, things begin well. But when the overcommitted Jake makes excuse after excuse, showing up late or not at all, a panicked Pie realizes that they won’t finish in time. When Jake finally shows up on the night before the project’s due, Pie courageously confronts him. “And for once, I wasn’t going to sugarcoat it.” The friends talk it out and collaborate through the night for the project’s successful presentation in class the next day. John and Oswald’s winning recipe—plentiful puns and delightful visual jokes—has yielded another treat here. The narration does skew didactic as it wraps up: “There’s nothing wrong with having a tough conversation, asking for help, or making sure you’re being treated fairly.” But it’s all good fun, in service of some gentle lessons about social-emotional development.
A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780063469730
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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