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THE NOISE INSIDE BOYS

Name: THE NOISE INSIDE BOYS
Author: Pete Oswald
ISBN: 9780593483220

A STORY ABOUT BIG FEELINGS

by Pete Oswald ; illustrated by Pete Oswald ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 2, 2023

This book on boys’ emotional lives will resonate with some but falls a little flat in its scope.

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Amid the hubbub of boisterous play, can a young boy learn to listen to the “noise inside” him?

Three brothers spend an exuberant day at the beach, leaping, running, and playing soccer. When the ball careens into the red-shirted boy’s sand castle, the fun and games end abruptly. Overcome with emotion, the child storms off. Back at home, the narrative takes on the voice of the still-hurting protagonist’s sympathetic dad: “Take a beat. This moment won’t last. / Breathe in, breathe out. Let the noises pass.” Gentle rhymes speak to the wide range of feelings the child is capable of: happiness, loneliness, fear, anxiety, jealousy, anger, grief. The parent’s message is to “Listen to your emotions—learn how to name them. / Then you’ll know better how to name them.” Oswald’s watercolor, gouache, acrylic, and digital illustrations use engaging color and texture to highlight various emotions; the family members have light skin, short hair, and slim builds. While the emphasis on men encouraging boys to identify their feelings is important, the story doesn’t offer further strategies for how to process big feelings. In an increasing field of picture books on emotional literacy, other options deal more deftly with this subject. Backmatter includes a visual glossary of 20 emotions, depicted by humans of different skin tones, hair textures, and genders. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

This book on boys’ emotional lives will resonate with some but falls a little flat in its scope. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: May 2, 2023

ISBN: 9780593483220

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Random House Studio

Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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OWL BY MYSELF
by Pete Oswald ; illustrated by Pete Oswald

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KINDERGARTEN GETS READY
by Naomi Danis ; illustrated by Pete Oswald

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CRANKY VERSUS THE CAT
by Phuc Tran ; illustrated by Pete Oswald & Saba Joshaghani

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THE PUMPKIN THIEF

From the Leaf Thief series

by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 28, 2026

More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.

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Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.

Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.

More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: July 28, 2026

ISBN: 9781464268076

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SUN THIEF
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SNOW THIEF
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BISON AND THE BUTTERFLY
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nancy Leschnikoff

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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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)