A kind story about friendship in an appealing format.
Best animal friends are back in Feuti’s follow-up to Do You Like My Bike? (2019).
Harry the guinea pig is excited about going to Hedgehog’s house for a sleepover. He packs his pillow, toothbrush, and blanket but wisely decides to not bring along his goldfish or bowling ball. He’s not sure about Simon, his red teddy bear, asserting “I am too old for teddy bears.” Of course there’s no such thing as too old for teddy bears, and Simon ends up in his backpack. Harry’s anxiety gets the better of him in the next chapter, more than twice as long as the first, when he discovers that Hedgehog has set up a tent in the backyard. Harry makes up excuse after excuse, and empathetic Hedgehog realizes that maybe his friend would feel safer indoors, which is where the party moves to, and the story ends with a cheerful game of hide-and-seek. The innocence and sweetness of the first book in the series continues to be felt here, a gentle introduction to common fears children face. Bright and clear illustrations enhance the humor and care shared between the two, though slightly ineffective pacing and a bland closing chapter mar the flow. Children looking for early graphic novels as well as those ready to advance from Elephant & Piggie will enjoy this low-stakes drama.
A kind story about friendship in an appealing format. (Graphic early reader. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-28141-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Acorn/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Toad and Little Blue Truck get ready for a hayride.
After the titular vehicle is loaded with hay, Toad is nowhere to be found. “Beep! Beep! Beep! Where are you, Toad?” asks Little Blue Truck. All the barnyard animals look for him. Sheep searches the meadow. Goose and Duck check the pond. Others pitch in, too, but Toad seems to have disappeared…until Hen hears snoring coming from the pile of hay in the back of Little Blue Truck. Although the text’s scansion is imperfect in places (adults may want to pre-read to ensure a smooth read-aloud), the bouncy meter and rhyming text nevertheless capture the energy of the search and the farmyard community’s concern for Toad’s safety, making this a solid storytime choice. Eye-catching illustrations with rich, fully saturated colors balance the right level of detail while still highlighting the animal that is the focus of each verse. By introducing one farm animal at a time, Schertle also helps the youngest readers begin to identify barnyard animals by name and understand their unique farm homes. Traditional animal sounds are part of the text, and listeners will add them to their vocabulary. It all ends with the promised hayride, bringing the tale to a joyous ending.
Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2026
ISBN: 9780063436121
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
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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
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