A masterly combination of fantasy and science to tuck in to every bookcase.
Pyle, creator of the webcomic Strange Planet, explains the tides using an inspired metaphor—the moon as a beleaguered mom attempting to pacify two fussy tots.
When a chilly beach whinges, motherly Moon draws water right up to its chin. But that gentle act pulls the ocean away from the beach on the other side of the globe! Back and forth the water goes until Moon explains that she can’t split the sea to cover both: The fish need water, too! Taking turns is the answer, but both beaches want to go first. So Moon builds a sand castle on the damp exposed shore of the first beach; the youngsters are enchanted, but Moon notes that they can’t play in the sand if they’re covered by the sea. The little ones are now eager to take turns. Soon all the beaches on Earth claim this ingenious solution. From then on, the T.I.D.E. (“Tuck-Ins Divided Evenly”) will turn. A final spread expands on the science, discussing the roles of the sun and gravity. Pyle’s unlined cartoons are utterly inviting in their simplicity; though his characters are anthropomorphized, with just a few strokes for eyes, mouths, and arms, he readily conveys an exhausted mama’s frustration and the toddlers’ endless capacity for squabbling. Meanwhile, the astronomy comes alive beautifully, providing a clear and uniquely creative portrait of the tidal sloshing of Earth’s watery blanket.
A masterly combination of fantasy and science to tuck in to every bookcase. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9798217029433
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
Just the thing for anyone with a Grinch-y tree of their own in the yard.
A grouchy sapling on a Christmas tree farm finds that there are better things than lights and decorations for its branches.
A Grinch among the other trees on the farm is determined never to become a sappy Christmas tree—and never to leave its spot. Its determination makes it so: It grows gnarled and twisted and needle-less. As time passes, the farm is swallowed by the suburbs. The neighborhood kids dare one another to climb the scary, grumpy-looking tree, and soon, they are using its branches for their imaginative play, the tree serving as a pirate ship, a fort, a spaceship, and a dragon. But in winter, the tree stands alone and feels bereft and lonely for the first time ever, and it can’t look away from the decorated tree inside the house next to its lot. When some parents threaten to cut the “horrible” tree down, the tree thinks, “Not now that my limbs are full of happy children,” showing how far it has come. Happily for the tree, the children won’t give up so easily, and though the tree never wished to become a Christmas tree, it’s perfectly content being a “trick or tree.” Martinez’s digital illustrations play up the humorous dichotomy between the happy, aspiring Christmas trees (and their shoppers) and the grumpy tree, and the diverse humans are satisfyingly expressive.
Just the thing for anyone with a Grinch-y tree of their own in the yard. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-7335-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre.
Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.
The family picnic is today. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s; her Groundling father appears to be a white human. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-35393-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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