Uniquely successful.
In this cautionary tale, the trees teach an Indigenous kid a lesson about respecting nature.
Thomas doesn’t listen to his sister when she tells him to pick up his garbage. She reminds him of Grandma’s teachings, but Thomas is too busy telling his friends stories, wherein he plays a starring role as a skilled hunter and provider for his large family. His friends are tired of hearing his tales, and they challenge him to prove his skill by spending a night alone in the woods. Foolishly, Thomas accepts the challenge. He marks trees with string as he walks into the forest with just a backpack and sleeping bag, but he also strips the bark off of trees in boredom and leaves wrappers from his food on the ground. He manages to build a decent lean-to and falls asleep. But the trees, having seen his disrespectful conduct, uproot themselves and dance to new places, changing his markings so he can’t find his way. Thomas wakes up in the rain and gets lost. Having run out of food, Thomas is grateful to forage some cranberries and thanks the forest for the provisions. Seeing his mess, he cleans up before sleeping with fitful dreams of how disappointed his grandmother would be. The trees, satisfied with his changes, dance again to allow him to find his way home. While Simpson’s cartoon illustrations don’t quite match the traditional tone of Inuk/Dene author Kelly’s story, the fable accomplishes its educative goal while entertaining readers with memorable characters and suspense. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Uniquely successful. (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-77227-369-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Inhabit Media
Review Posted Online: Aug. 10, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
Earnest and well meaning but not quite a touchdown.
In Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Hurts’ motivational picture book, a youngster rebounds from disappointment.
As Jalen heads off on his first day of school, he daydreams about joining the football team, but his friend Trey soon breaks the bad news. The garden club needed more space for vegetables, so the football field was used for planting. There will be no football this year. Jalen is despondent, but his teachers Mrs. Lee and Mr. Barry and bodega owner Mr. Muhammad offer guidance that spurs him and his friends into positive action. They work to flip a nearby empty lot into a football field, with Jalen echoing his mentors’ adages. Once the field is complete, Jalen feels a swell of pride in his and his friends’ work. While the idea of kids working together to effect change is a laudable one, the bland, wordy storytelling won’t inspire young people or hold their attention. Tired, cliched inspirational comments peppered throughout often slow down the narrative, and many adult readers will find the premise—a school dropping a high-interest sports program in favor of a community garden—wildly unrealistic. Though the illustrations are colorful, with a Disney Junior charm, strange stylistic choices, such as signs with odd combinations of scribbles instead of letters, give them an unpolished look. Like Hurts, Jalen is Black; his community is diverse.
Earnest and well meaning but not quite a touchdown. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 10, 2026
ISBN: 9798217040308
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
Though Jim may have been grumpy because a chimp’s an ape and not a monkey, readers will enjoy and maybe learn from his...
It’s a wonderful day in the jungle, so why’s Jim Panzee so grumpy?
When Jim woke up, nothing was right: "The sun was too bright, the sky was too blue, and bananas were too sweet." Norman the gorilla asks Jim why he’s so grumpy, and Jim insists he’s not. They meet Marabou, to whom Norman confides that Jim’s grumpy. When Jim denies it again, Marabou points out that Jim’s shoulders are hunched; Jim stands up. When they meet Lemur, Lemur points out Jim’s bunchy eyebrows; Jim unbunches them. When he trips over Snake, Snake points out Jim’s frown…so Jim puts on a grimacelike smile. Everyone has suggestions to brighten his mood: dancing, singing, swinging, swimming…but Jim doesn’t feel like any of that. He gets so fed up, he yells at his animal friends and stomps off…then he feels sad about yelling. He and Norman (who regrets dancing with that porcupine) finally just have a sit and decide it’s a wonderful day to be grumpy—which, of course, makes them both feel a little better. Suzanne Lang’s encouragement to sit with your emotions (thus allowing them to pass) is nearly Buddhist in its take, and it will be great bibliotherapy for the crabby, cranky, and cross. Oscar-nominated animator Max Lang’s cartoony illustrations lighten the mood without making light of Jim’s mood; Jim has comically long arms, and his facial expressions are quite funny.
Though Jim may have been grumpy because a chimp’s an ape and not a monkey, readers will enjoy and maybe learn from his journey. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-553-53786-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 18, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2018
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