A warm tale of found family and frantic gulls that hits every emotional beat with aplomb.
The concept of unconventional parenting gets taken up a notch when different species work together to rear offspring.
Septimus the badger has always felt like a bit of an outsider (unlike his brethren, he’d rather listen to a rousing opera than dig in the dirt), but thanks to his friend Gully and her recently hatched chicks, he no longer feels alone. Raising the chicks alongside Gully in his tidy home has been fulfilling, but both are experiencing the typical exhaustion of new parents. Into their lives burst a family of forest badgers Septimus met on his previous travels—chronicled in Bad Badger (2025)—full of endless good cheer and a willingness to help however they can. Their aid is greatly appreciated (gulls tend to raise their young in a flock, after all), but what happens when the chicks feel more inclined to dig underground than to take to the sky? Wood deepens Septimus’ story, imbuing her gentle tale with conflicts that reside almost entirely in the badger’s own neurotic little head; the author displays a rare gift for laying bare her protagonist's psyche. Once more, Ghigini’s artwork sets a cozy tone. The genuine affection between characters is palpable; this is a delightful exploration of family and love itself, of the challenges of facing one’s fears and the joys of trying new things.
A warm tale of found family and frantic gulls that hits every emotional beat with aplomb. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9781454953487
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2026
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode.
A long-running series reaches its closing chapters.
Having, as Kline notes in her warm valedictory acknowledgements, taken 30 years to get through second and third grade, Harry Spooger is overdue to move on—but not just into fourth grade, it turns out, as his family is moving to another town as soon as the school year ends. The news leaves his best friend, narrator “Dougo,” devastated…particularly as Harry doesn’t seem all that fussed about it. With series fans in mind, the author takes Harry through a sort of last-day-of-school farewell tour. From his desk he pulls a burned hot dog and other items that featured in past episodes, says goodbye to Song Lee and other classmates, and even (for the first time ever) leads Doug and readers into his house and memento-strewn room for further reminiscing. Of course, Harry isn’t as blasé about the move as he pretends, and eyes aren’t exactly dry when he departs. But hardly is he out of sight before Doug is meeting Mohammad, a new neighbor from Syria who (along with further diversifying a cast that began as mostly white but has become increasingly multiethnic over the years) will also be starting fourth grade at summer’s end, and planning a written account of his “horrible” buddy’s exploits. Finished illustrations not seen.
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Nov. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-451-47963-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
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