Hauntingly good—quirky, amusing, and deeply felt.
A child’s plan to trap a ghost runs smoothly…at first.
Sam’s just started a new school, and this week is show and tell. Nervous about making a good impression, the youngster decides to catch and bring in a ghost. Told in the second person, text comprised entirely of instructions for ghost hunting nods cheekily to hardboiled detective fiction. Donning a helmet-mounted camera, Sam scours the playground—aha! A ghost. Sam tries to understand the spirit’s personality and preferences in order to design the perfect trap. The two spend time together playing hide and seek, watering flowers, and sharing pizza. Finally, Sam builds a cage and baits it with the ghost’s favorite things. But when the lock clicks behind the forlorn-looking specter, Sam realizes that maybe trapping a friend isn’t the right thing to do after all. Shedding a tear, Sam lets the ghost go. Show and tell is nevertheless a rousing success: The other students enjoy the story of Sam’s ghost-hunting adventure, complete with photographic evidence. Sam’s new friends, both human and spirit, celebrate with pizza. The interplay of tightly crafted text and emotionally expressive illustrations, reminiscent of chalk drawings, results in a book that never wastes a word yet brims with layers of personality, tenderness, and humor. Sam has dark hair in pigtails and skin the white of the page.
Hauntingly good—quirky, amusing, and deeply felt. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 1, 2025
ISBN: 9781339031958
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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