As captivating as it is important, a lovely and essential tribute to the transformation wrought by parenthood.
A halcyon love letter from mothers for the children who transformed their bodies.
This epistolary piece begins with the dream of motherhood as a snoozing woman envisions her future with ruminative anticipation. Flash forward slightly, and Calatzis’ illustrations follow a racially and culturally diverse group of pregnant people as they anticipate what’s to come. Depicted (rather refreshingly) as hard work, labor ushers forth a new era, and these women become parents, mothers for whom love, possibility, and growth—physical and otherwise—abound. Powers’ thesis is a simple one—the child makes the mother, but it’s the latter who carries embodied proof of the life they’ll go on to share. The birthing parents cue largely female, and while a stretch-marked stomach makes a notable appearance, C-section scarring does not. Still, the identities and bodies rendered throughout prove thoughtfully, thoroughly diverse otherwise. The result not only offers context for the physical experience of motherhood— “wrinkles, sags, grays, / new markings to cherish”—but also provides a template for the kind of authentic self-love that only inclusive visibility can cultivate. Picture books about parenthood are plentiful, but few capture the corporeal experience with comparable care. Calatzis’ artwork, a stunning combination of collage and embroidery, underscores the act of making as being intentional and effortful, an aesthetic message deeply compatible with Powers’ thoughtful, empowering text.
As captivating as it is important, a lovely and essential tribute to the transformation wrought by parenthood. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Dec. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9781536230062
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Walker US/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts.
In this latest slice in the Food Group series, Humble Pie learns to stand up to a busy friend who’s taking advantage of his pal’s hard work on the sidelines.
Jake the Cake and Humble Pie are good friends. Where Pie is content to toil in the background, Jake happily shines in the spotlight. Alert readers will notice that Pie’s always right there, too, getting A-pluses and skiing expertly just behind—while also doing the support work that keeps every school and social project humming. “Fact: Nobody notices pie when there’s cake nearby!” When the two friends pair up for a science project, things begin well. But when the overcommitted Jake makes excuse after excuse, showing up late or not at all, a panicked Pie realizes that they won’t finish in time. When Jake finally shows up on the night before the project’s due, Pie courageously confronts him. “And for once, I wasn’t going to sugarcoat it.” The friends talk it out and collaborate through the night for the project’s successful presentation in class the next day. John and Oswald’s winning recipe—plentiful puns and delightful visual jokes—has yielded another treat here. The narration does skew didactic as it wraps up: “There’s nothing wrong with having a tough conversation, asking for help, or making sure you’re being treated fairly.” But it’s all good fun, in service of some gentle lessons about social-emotional development.
A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780063469730
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
