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SNAKE & BAT

Name: SNAKE & BAT
Author: Mo Willems
ISBN: 9781454966784

WHAT WILL WE FIND IN THIS BOX?

From the Snake & Bat series

by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems ‧ RELEASE DATE: tomorrow

A perfect demonstration of the uncomplicated pleasures of play.

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Friends find a marvelous diversion.

Snake is excited to tell Bat about finding a box. Together, they imagine that it could contain something they both like; channeling Wallace and Gromit, they sigh, “Mmmm…Cheese!” They rummage (“Rummage! Rummage!”) in the box, and Bat sets aside a small, wrapped item from inside. Whatever it is, it is not cheese. Willems gives these new characters simple, expressive shapes: Brown Bat has pointy, pink ears and three-fingered flappy arm/hands; Snake is bendy and green. Together they exude a sparkling, affectionate enthusiasm. Bat finds “IN-STRUC-TIONS” that “come in a lot of languages.” Bat cheerfully reads out the languages represented, each shown in a separate dialog balloon: “Spanish! French! Mandarin! Dutch! Korean! Arabic! Hindi! Thai! Japanese!” Meanwhile, Snake imaginatively turns the box into a store, a snail’s shell, and a lampshade. Once more, Willems relies on a winning formula that’s served him well: Lively signature art against plain backgrounds keeps the focus on irresistible characters and a delightful story. The words aren’t difficult, with one exception (“instructions”) carefully hyphenated for sounding out. When Piggie turns up to look for the box, Bat and Snake realize that it was addressed to her. They are apologetic and sad, but Piggie does not want to take away either the in-struc-tions or the box. She is excited to have the toy (not cheese) that was inside. The result? Happiness all around.

A perfect demonstration of the uncomplicated pleasures of play. (Early reader. 4-7)

Pub Date: tomorrow

ISBN: 9781454966784

Page Count: 64

Publisher: Union Square Kids

Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
IT'S MY BIRD-DAY!
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems

- BOOK REVIEW
THE MONSTER AND PUPPET SHOW!
by Mo Willems & Kate Micucci ; illustrated by Mo Willems & Kate Micucci

- BOOK REVIEW
THE PIGEON WON'T COUNT TO 10!
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK LOST AND FOUND

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 18, 2026

Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed.

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Beep! Beep! Beep! Toad and Little Blue Truck get ready for a hayride.

After the titular vehicle is loaded with hay, Toad is nowhere to be found. “Beep! Beep! Beep! Where are you, Toad?” asks Little Blue Truck. All the barnyard animals look for him. Sheep searches the meadow. Goose and Duck check the pond. Others pitch in, too, but Toad seems to have disappeared…until Hen hears snoring coming from the pile of hay in the back of Little Blue Truck. Although the text’s scansion is imperfect in places (adults may want to pre-read to ensure a smooth read-aloud), the bouncy meter and rhyming text nevertheless capture the energy of the search and the farmyard community’s concern for Toad’s safety, making this a solid storytime choice. Eye-catching illustrations with rich, fully saturated colors balance the right level of detail while still highlighting the animal that is the focus of each verse. By introducing one farm animal at a time, Schertle also helps the youngest readers begin to identify barnyard animals by name and understand their unique farm homes. Traditional animal sounds are part of the text, and listeners will add them to their vocabulary. It all ends with the promised hayride, bringing the tale to a joyous ending.

Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2026

ISBN: 9780063436121

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)