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THE EAR

Name: THE EAR
Author: Piret Raud
ISBN: 978-0-500-65163-6

by Piret Raud ; illustrated by Piret Raud ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 5, 2019

This quirky affirmation of the value of listening will have readers thinking

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A disembodied ear suffers an existential crisis.

Readers never learn how the ear became separated from her head, though frontmatter images of a white man with a red beard, a vase of sunflowers, and a wooden chair with cane seat provide clues to readers familiar with art history. But van Gogh is not the point. The point is that with no head attached, “I am no one,” the Ear weeps. But then a doleful frog asks if he can sing for her, which cheers them both up. She goes on to listen to an elephant’s story and a hare’s confession (she ate a snowman’s nose). Pretty soon, the Ear has earned a reputation as “the best listener in the land.” Then a spider comes “with a voice as sweet as honey” to whisper unkindnesses as it spins its web around the Ear. But with a “Chomp!” the frog dispatches the spider, and they all live happily ever after. Raud’s little tale is about as weird as they come, and the Ear’s staring eyes are more than a little unsettling. But the Estonian author/illustrator’s surreal, two-dimensional images, populated with smiling, stylized animals, have a zany matter-of-factness that eases readers into the story. Characters perch on the horizon line, strong verticals and horizontals combining with rounded corners to convey stability, while swirling interior lines hint at emotional complexity.

This quirky affirmation of the value of listening will have readers thinking . (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-500-65163-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Thames & Hudson

Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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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

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THE SUN THIEF
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater

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THE SNOW THIEF
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater

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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)