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WHEN WE WERE SNAILS

Name: WHEN WE WERE SNAILS
Author: Nan Cao
ISBN: 9798217028283

by Nan Cao ; illustrated by Nan Cao ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2026

An affectionate ode to parental devotion in challenging circumstances.

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A mother and child navigate migratory living and a period of separation.

Like snails, the parent and little one carry their homes with them, moving frequently for the mother’s work. Life is both beautiful and difficult. When they move to a new city, Mom says that “snails leave traces of themselves wherever they go.” The pair keep close amid change, so when Mom must leave the young protagonist with her own parents, the child is distressed. “My tummy hurt and my eyes stung….I was sad but I did not cry.” Straightforward first-person narration presents a deeply emotional yet unsentimental picture of a child’s transitory life. Details in the illustrations suggest that this is a particular experience of internal Chinese migration, but Cao’s textual directness feels universal; certainly, employment-based migration is a familiar phenomenon worldwide. The challenges that this experience holds for children also persist—a message communicated with subtle sophistication by an image of the youngster staring ahead stoically while held in the arms of an equally impassive grandmother. Swirling scenes of parent and child are colorful and uplifting, imbued with the loveliness of a childhood secure in familial love. Snails grace both the protagonist’s drawings and the bright, blooming flowers that curl around page corners.

An affectionate ode to parental devotion in challenging circumstances. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: March 31, 2026

ISBN: 9798217028283

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Crown

Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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SOUR CHERRIES
by Dezh Azaad ; illustrated by Nan Cao

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THE CARPET
by Dezh Azaad ; illustrated by Nan Cao

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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)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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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)