May prompt some treasure-seeking on the parts of readers, as well.
On a series of walks with his grandmother, Toshi collects small treasures.
This interactive book celebrates a favorite childhood activity. Toshi’s understanding grandmother gives him a red backpack to store his finds, and off they go: to a nearby riverbank, into town, the forest, the countryside, the park, and the beach. After each double-page spread that shows them exploring each destination and labels some of Toshi’s finds in context, there’s a page of Toshi’s treasures, identified, and a puzzle page of numbered and connected images. Answers, and a bit of further information, are in the back of the book. Toshi’s discoveries may be man-made (a bottle cap, a coin) or natural (an empty snail shell, a feather). Aki’s illustrations have the appearance of swift ink-and-watercolor sketches. With a few surprising exceptions (a crab’s carapace is identified as a horseshoe crab’s, and one picture of a gannet misplaces its yellow markings, among others), they’re recognizable and reasonably accurate. Plastic dinosaurs and soda-can tabs can be found anywhere in this country, but the flora and fauna are more limited to the northeastern states and eastern Canada. (This title was originally published in French, in Quebec.) At the end, Toshi’s grandmother (sadly, the illustrator emphasizes her wrinkles rather than her warmth) identifies some of the animals they saw on their trips. Readers can go back and find them in the various spreads.
May prompt some treasure-seeking on the parts of readers, as well. (Informational picture/puzzle book. 4-10)Pub Date: April 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77138-573-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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