Fits the bill for kids who need some help voicing their needs.
A toucan wants to build a tree house, but the new neighbors get carried away.
Toco, a small toucan with a dark pink beak, draws up a plan for his ideal home, with a leaf-covered roof and flower boxes. A toucan in a hard hat arrives to offer help but insists they need six windows (Toco had planned on just four). Soon, a different toucan, holding a power drill, shows up and proposes constructing a bridge. Hey, that wasn’t in Toco’s plan! Toco tries to speak up, but several other large, yellow-beaked toucans arrive ready to supply their own input, building more and more outlandish elements. They complete a massive tree house with a cinema, a swimming pool, and several towers; almost immediately, it all collapses. Toco finally finds his voice and asserts that none of the others’ ideas are right for him. With his original plan and the help of only a few toucans, Toco leads the completion of his perfect tree house. Bowles strikes a strong balance between silly and serious with this fable that emphasizes the importance of speaking up confidently and respectfully. An in-depth appended note by a clinical child psychologist informs adult readers how to promote and model “assertive communication” for children. The pleasant, cartoon-style illustrations include bright, tropical colors.
Fits the bill for kids who need some help voicing their needs. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781433848544
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Magination/American Psychological Association
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2026
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available.
A ghost learns to appreciate his differences.
The little ghost protagonist of this title is unusual. He’s a quilt, not a lightweight sheet like his parents and friends. He dislikes being different despite his mom’s reassurance that his ancestors also had unconventional appearances. Halloween makes the little ghost happy, though. He decides to watch trick-or-treaters by draping over a porch chair—but lands on a porch rail instead. A mom accompanying her daughter picks him up, wraps him around her chilly daughter, and brings him home with them! The family likes his looks and comforting warmth, and the little ghost immediately feels better about himself. As soon as he’s able to, he flies out through the chimney and muses happily that this adventure happened only due to his being a quilt. This odd but gently told story conveys the importance of self-respect and acceptance of one’s uniqueness. The delivery of this positive message has something of a heavy-handed feel and is rushed besides. It also isn’t entirely logical: The protagonist could have been a different type of covering; a blanket, for instance, might have enjoyed an identical experience. The soft, pleasing illustrations’ palette of tans, grays, white, black, some touches of color, and, occasionally, white text against black backgrounds suggest isolation, such as the ghost feels about himself. Most humans, including the trick-or-treating mom and daughter, have beige skin. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-16.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 66.2% of actual size.)
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7352-6447-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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