Captivating illustrations paired with a simple, charming story.
Mina, a tiny white mouse, does not know what to think about her father’s unusual houseguests.
Introvert Mina generally isn’t bothered by any of her father’s odd finds, including old tin cans, stamps he displays as fine art, and a troupe of wandering musicians. What finally pulls her nose out of her books are the “squirrels” her father brings home…rather huge, cat-looking ones. Suspecting that the creatures aren’t really squirrels, Mina keeps a wary eye on them for the next few days while her father makes the guests feel at home. When the cats turn against the mice, Mina’s father’s previous adventure in teaching stick insects to read comes in handy, and his refrain that “everything will be fine” proves true. Forsythe manages to convey so much personality in such a small package. Mina’s ability to remain engrossed in her books despite her eccentric father’s whims is amusing. The soft-edged illustrations have the gorgeous warmth and glow of firelight, with a palette dominated by shades of orange, burnt browns, and ranges of yellow with touches of blue. Light and shadow bring the mice’s world to life, providing dimension and movement. One cat is so expertly drawn that a slight shift of its eyes captures its sly intentions. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Captivating illustrations paired with a simple, charming story. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4814-8041-3
Page Count: 68
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2022
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
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