Pure joy.
What could be better than a family day at the beach?
Narrator Maya, a child of color with light-brown skin and Afro puff pigtails, explains it all to readers: “When you go to the beach with your cousins, aunts, uncles, grandma, and mom and you’re doing something really fun, everyone gets involved.” Maya’s sentences are like the day itself: full of family and excitement, breathlessly racing from sand to surf and back. Crews’ story and art take place entirely in double-page spreads that mostly teem with Maya’s relations, a boisterous, multi-racial and -generational crew. The author/illustrator uses the gutter to balance her compositions, distributing family members across the tableaux. The few scenes that focus specifically on Maya and darker-skinned cousin Leo, who together get to make “all the decisions” this year, are all the more effective for Crews’ variations in perspective. In a rare close-up, they joyously stir up a “TIDAL WAVE!”; in another, they appear in quadruplicate, dancing in and out of the waves in a striking, mirrored overhead view. Even when Maya and Leo’s play results in a scolding, the love that binds this family together is as warm as the summer sun. This outing appears to be a once-a-year celebration, which distills and concentrates its importance: With a ritual as special as this one, of course lunch “will be the best sandwich, ever.”
Pure joy. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 20, 2025
ISBN: 9780063390225
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
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
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A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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