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AI & AIKO AND THE DINOSAUR HUG

Name: AI & AIKO AND THE DINOSAUR HUG
Author: Peter Draw
ISBN: 9780593694527

by Peter Draw ; illustrated by Peter Draw ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 6, 2026

A monstrously sweet tale of kindness.

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The protagonists of Ai & Aiko and the Little Curve (2025) return for a winter adventure.

Ai, an enthusiastic little boy with paper-white skin and a mop of cloudlike hair, and his shiba inu, Aiko, are excited to play outside in the snow with their friend Kei and her bunny, Kotton. As Grandpa, proprietor of the Tofu Café, watches fondly, Ai rushes out into the cold without a jacket—and then just as quickly heads back inside. The older man embraces the boy—after all, he points out, “Everyone needs a hug sometimes.” While Ai and Kei build a snowman, Aiko discovers a giant blue dinosaur in the ice. Afraid, the four friends hide, but when they peer out from behind a tree, they notice the dinosaur shivering. The behemoth must be cold—and perhaps even a little sad—so they lead it to the Tofu Café. Letting out a loud “grrrrr,” the dinosaur startles everyone. Ai, Aiko, and their friends try various methods to warm up the dino, like offering him mittens and hot chocolate, but it’s Grandpa’s words that do the trick, and a tender hug puts everything right. Relying on his now-familiar kawaii illustrations, Draw uses color and lines to convey warmth, emotion, and movement. Populating his world with chipper, rounded, mostly light-skinned characters, he’s crafted another charming story filled with important lessons: Don’t judge others by appearances, and love and friendship will always save the day.

A monstrously sweet tale of kindness. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026

ISBN: 9780593694527

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Philomel

Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S DINOSAURS & PREHISTORIC CREATURES | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
AI & AIKO AND THE LITTLE CURVE
by Peter Draw ; illustrated by Peter Draw

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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)

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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)