A stunning and unforgettable journey.
Every year, the Pacific Northwest’s Salish Sea becomes a pit stop on one of nature’s most majestic migrations.
Leaving Baja California each February, 20,000 gray whales embark on a monthslong journey to the Arctic, where they spend each summer feasting on shrimp and growing strong. The migration is arduous; the whales eat almost nothing along the way and lose one-third of their body weight. Among the travelers are 12 whales with a sense of adventure, willing to risk a detour with the promise of a valuable payoff. Sometimes called the Sounders, these whales break off from the group each year at the tip of Washington State and enter the great network of waterways called the Salish Sea. Their 170-mile detour leads them to shorelines so shallow that whales who don’t pay attention to the outgoing tide are at risk of being stranded. Here they scrape great heaps of ghost shrimp from the sea floor, leaving behind giant pits in the sand that are visible when the tide turns. The Sounders eat hundreds of pounds of shrimp during their short stay in the Salish Sea before continuing their journey to the Arctic, bellies full. Nickum’s quiet, flowing prose sets the scene with vivid, sensory detail. MacKay’s captivating ink and paper illustrations were layered and enhanced with wire, colored filters, and light and then photographed for a glowing and serene three-dimensional effect. The speckled whales seem ready to splash off the page in each dioramic scene.
A stunning and unforgettable journey. (more information on the whales, suggested reading) (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Feb. 10, 2026
ISBN: 9781536234701
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
A charming tale of an athlete who may not steal any bases but who will certainly steal readers’ hearts.
Ohtani, pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, teams up with Blank and Liem to tell the story of how his dog, Decoy, threw out a ceremonial first pitch.
It’s a big day! Decoy leaps “off the bed. Then back onto the bed. Then off the bed.” The enthusiastic pup heads outside to practice with his lucky baseball but is quickly distracted by squirrels (“we’ll play later!”), airplanes (“flyin’ high!”), and flowers (“smell ya soon!”). Dog and pitcher then head to the ballpark. In the locker room, Decoy high-paws Shohei’s teammates. It’s nearly time! But as Shohei prepares to warm up, Decoy realizes that he’s forgotten something important: his lucky ball. Without it, there will be “no championships, no parades, and no hot dogs!” Back home he goes, returning just in time. With Shohei at the plate, Decoy runs from the mound to his owner, rolling the ball into Shohei’s mitt for a “Striiiiike!” Related from a dog’s point of view, Ohtani and Blank’s energetic text lends the tale a sense of urgency and suspense. Liem’s illustrations capture the excitement of the first day of baseball season and the joys of locker room camaraderie, as well as Shohei and Decoy’s mutual affection—even when the ball is drenched in slobber, Shohei’s love for his pet shines through, and clearly, Decoy is focused when it matters.
A charming tale of an athlete who may not steal any bases but who will certainly steal readers’ hearts. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9780063460775
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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