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GIRAFFE ASKS FOR HELP

Name: GIRAFFE ASKS FOR HELP
Author: Nyasha Chikowore
ISBN: 978-1-4338-2946-8

by Nyasha Chikowore ; illustrated by Janet McDonnell ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2019

May teach kids that it’s OK to ask for help, but it’s unlikely to be a repeat read.

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Gary Giraffe learns to ask for help even when he feels the task is something he should be able to do alone.

Gary has finally attained the milestone of his 6th birthday. Now he’s old enough to eat the best acacia leaves up high—but his excitement is tempered by his repeated failures to reach them. Each try finds him falling over. Tye Tickbird, Gary’s best friend, finally flies down and reminds him, “When you can’t do something all by yourself, you ask a friend or family member to help.” Gary’s friends (a cheetah, an elephant, a lion, and Tye) tell him that no matter their age, everyone needs help with something, and there’s nothing wrong in asking for it. Their solution—one weighting down a branch, two others anchoring Gary’s legs—works, and Gary gets a bite of leaves. Gary’s expression often seems static, and while McDonnell’s cartoon illustrations reflect the tale, they don’t add much beyond it aside from a cringe-inducing image of two lionesses fawning on the lion. Chikowore’s tale is both pedantic and contrived; why would giraffes (even anthropomorphized ones) base their ability to eat high leaves on age rather than height? But nonetheless, the author’s lengthy backmatter note explains how important it is that children acquire the skill of asking for help and how parents can help accomplish this.

May teach kids that it’s OK to ask for help, but it’s unlikely to be a repeat read. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: March 1, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-4338-2946-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Magination/American Psychological Association

Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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BETTER THAN A TOUCHDOWN

by Jalen Hurts ; illustrated by Nneka Myers ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2026

Earnest and well meaning but not quite a touchdown.

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In Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Hurts’ motivational picture book, a youngster rebounds from disappointment.

As Jalen heads off on his first day of school, he daydreams about joining the football team, but his friend Trey soon breaks the bad news. The garden club needed more space for vegetables, so the football field was used for planting. There will be no football this year. Jalen is despondent, but his teachers Mrs. Lee and Mr. Barry and bodega owner Mr. Muhammad offer guidance that spurs him and his friends into positive action. They work to flip a nearby empty lot into a football field, with Jalen echoing his mentors’ adages. Once the field is complete, Jalen feels a swell of pride in his and his friends’ work. While the idea of kids working together to effect change is a laudable one, the bland, wordy storytelling won’t inspire young people or hold their attention. Tired, cliched inspirational comments peppered throughout often slow down the narrative, and many adult readers will find the premise—a school dropping a high-interest sports program in favor of a community garden—wildly unrealistic. Though the illustrations are colorful, with a Disney Junior charm, strange stylistic choices, such as signs with odd combinations of scribbles instead of letters, give them an unpolished look. Like Hurts, Jalen is Black; his community is diverse.

Earnest and well meaning but not quite a touchdown. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: March 10, 2026

ISBN: 9798217040308

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Flamingo Books

Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

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GRUMPY MONKEY

by Suzanne Lang ; illustrated by Max Lang ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 15, 2018

Though Jim may have been grumpy because a chimp’s an ape and not a monkey, readers will enjoy and maybe learn from his...

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It’s a wonderful day in the jungle, so why’s Jim Panzee so grumpy?

When Jim woke up, nothing was right: "The sun was too bright, the sky was too blue, and bananas were too sweet." Norman the gorilla asks Jim why he’s so grumpy, and Jim insists he’s not. They meet Marabou, to whom Norman confides that Jim’s grumpy. When Jim denies it again, Marabou points out that Jim’s shoulders are hunched; Jim stands up. When they meet Lemur, Lemur points out Jim’s bunchy eyebrows; Jim unbunches them. When he trips over Snake, Snake points out Jim’s frown…so Jim puts on a grimacelike smile. Everyone has suggestions to brighten his mood: dancing, singing, swinging, swimming…but Jim doesn’t feel like any of that. He gets so fed up, he yells at his animal friends and stomps off…then he feels sad about yelling. He and Norman (who regrets dancing with that porcupine) finally just have a sit and decide it’s a wonderful day to be grumpy—which, of course, makes them both feel a little better. Suzanne Lang’s encouragement to sit with your emotions (thus allowing them to pass) is nearly Buddhist in its take, and it will be great bibliotherapy for the crabby, cranky, and cross. Oscar-nominated animator Max Lang’s cartoony illustrations lighten the mood without making light of Jim’s mood; Jim has comically long arms, and his facial expressions are quite funny.

Though Jim may have been grumpy because a chimp’s an ape and not a monkey, readers will enjoy and maybe learn from his journey. (Picture book. 4-8)