“I like to share…. / It makes me happy deep inside.” To amuse and instruct, one could do a lot worse than Wright and...
Big Bear, after a few false starts, remembers to share the fare.
Hillenbrand’s Big Bear has a burly belly, which surely came from somewhere. As Big Bear is in the process of chowing down a galvanized trash can full of deep indigo berries, readers will quickly figure out that puzzle. It so happens that other creatures of the forest share Big Bear’s interest in food, though he is too oblivious to share his stock, his eyes closed in berry joy. An old oak—drawn by Hillenbrand as an amiably imperial presence with a shock of limbs like Einstein’s hair—feels that Big Bear needs to jump-start his social graces. “Branches shook on the old oak tree. / A deep, low voice said, ‘Listen to me.... / ‘Share, Big Bear, share!’ ” Maybe it is because Tree’s voice is both deep and low, but Big Bear misunderstands repeatedly (as the refrain goes, “He didn’t pay attention like a good bear should”). He thinks Tree said “hair.” So he slicks his fur back and goes on munching. Tree repeats, Big Bear mishears. Lair, chair, scare (“Big Bear knew just what to do. / He jumped in the air and yelled out, ‘BOO!’ ”). Finally, Tree breaks through the earwax. “How could I forget to share? / Come, everyone, / there are berries to spare!” It is refreshing—like those berries on a hot summer day—that Big Bear has just been in a swoon of delight and not a piggy-wiggy who needed a mindful slap on the wrist, though he does blush a little.
“I like to share…. / It makes me happy deep inside.” To amuse and instruct, one could do a lot worse than Wright and Hillenbrand’s bear and old oak. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 25, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-50395-100-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Two Lions
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
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More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.
Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.
Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781464268076
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2026
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
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