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A FOREST, A FAMILY, A HARBOR, A HOME

Name: A FOREST, A FAMILY, A HARBOR, A HOME
Author: Nikki McClure
ISBN: 9781324125105

by Nikki McClure ; illustrated by Nikki McClure ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 6, 2026

Soft, stunning, and cozy as a hug.

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A quiet meditation on home, memory, and the places that shape us.

Across rippling water, a tiny Pacific Northwest cabin with a slanted roof glows in the distance. Inside, a child and a black cat gaze out the window toward the dense forest beyond. Wearing a bright yellow knit hat, the youngster wanders deer paths collecting mushrooms in a wicker basket, shelters beneath a fallen tree during an unexpected rainstorm, and eventually returns home to two loving parents who tend the fire and wait with warm cocoa. Together, the family feasts, mends clothes, and tells stories by candlelight in the comforting rhythm of cabin life. As the years pass, the child leaves to travel the world but returns as a young adult (still wearing the yellow hat) to find the cabin, the forest, the cat, and the family ready with open arms. McClure’s signature cut-paper illustrations blend bold silhouettes and luminous washes of blue and green into intimate, richly detailed scenescapes. Serving as a through line, the yellow hat moves through rounded frames that evoke handcrafted printmaking, while the interplay of shadow and perspective gives each spread a cinematic warmth. Each character’s skin tone takes on the color of the painted background. Spare, hushed text complements the atmospheric visuals with comfortable repetition.

Soft, stunning, and cozy as a hug. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2026

ISBN: 9781324125105

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Norton Young Readers

Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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SOMETHING ABOUT THE SKY
by Rachel Carson ; illustrated by Nikki McClure

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1, 2, 3 SALISH SEA
by Nikki McClure ; illustrated by Nikki McClure

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WHAT WILL THESE HANDS MAKE?
by Nikki McClure ; illustrated by Nikki McClure

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THE PUMPKIN THIEF

From the Leaf Thief series

by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 28, 2026

More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.

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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

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SUN THIEF
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SNOW THIEF
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BISON AND THE BUTTERFLY
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nancy Leschnikoff

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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)