An immersive and unforgettable appreciation of a new day.
A mantra, a ritual, and a routine for greeting the day.
Our tan-skinned, dark-haired young hero, clad in striped purple and red pajamas, slips out of bed in the morning when “the sky is just thinking about daytime.” The child’s every sense is attuned as the little one leaves home and moves through the meadow; Myers draws readers’ attention to the sight of slug trails on the porch (“but no slugs”), the feel of “warm feet on the cool ground,” and the sounds of squawking, squeaking birds. The inexorable slow build of the dawn reaches its zenith when the child finds a special rock in the woods (“And now here is my sitting spot: a stone curved just for me”). It all culminates with the moment the child climbs to the top of the rock and cries, “GOOD MORNING, MORNING!” to the first beams of light before returning home. What sets this title apart isn’t simply the youngster’s familiarity with this waking world, but also the little one’s independence and comfort navigating it. Myers’ pacing is superb; her use of language veers expertly from playful to meditative and back again. Mann’s depiction of light is masterful; it shifts and changes subtly on the page with the aid of almost tactile graphite and digital art. Few will walk away without wishing for wonderful woods of their very own in which to welcome a waking world.
An immersive and unforgettable appreciation of a new day. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9780823458318
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Neal Porter/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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