A brilliant, uplifting, and world-embracing tale to unite us in divisive times.
On the “blue dot” that is planet Earth, whether we reside on Antarctica or in Amsterdam, we’re all connected.
A tan-skinned caregiver and child cuddle on a sofa looking at a book—in fact, this very book—while the youngster’s toys lie scattered on the floor. All seemingly mundane, but the magic has already begun. Fadeeva’s minimalist yet thought-provoking text makes our globe feel simultaneously vast and intimate: “Right now, you are reading this book. Right now, someone is eating breakfast...falling asleep. Right now, on Earth, all at the same time, there is day and night, summer and winter, fire and ice.” A montage of dramatically illustrated settings emphasizes this point as Fadeeva reveals a boat tossed on the high seas, another parent/child pair digging potatoes in a charcoal-gray field, caribou milling amid the snowy tundra, a leopard slinking through the jungle, African dancers clad in kente cloth whirling about. The contrast between bright colors that fairly glow and more somber neutrals is enthralling, with collaged elements (pieces of newsprint, graph paper, even a book’s ISBN) providing further visual interest. This wholly immersive work reminds young people that our world is so much wider than it might appear and invites them to explore these far-flung areas—not as tourists but as members of a global community.
A brilliant, uplifting, and world-embracing tale to unite us in divisive times. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2026
ISBN: 9798985849455
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Blue Dot Kids Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
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
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
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