This rollicking fable will resonate with aficionados, dilettantes, and prodigies everywhere.
One-upmanship has never been so over-the-top.
How can Wally Wombat keep up with Wylie Wombat? Play the piano? Done that. Tap dance—while playing the piano? Done THAT. Twirling a ball on a furry snout—while tap dancing and playing the piano? DONE THAT! Ferociously sweating Wally Wombat has had “ENOUGH!” Wylie Wombat can do everything he can, and maybe even better. If Wally can’t be the best, he won’t play at all. So there. Wally quickly realizes that a quiet life in his burrow, while nice, isn’t what he wishes for most of all. Wylie offers up a truce and chocolate chip cookies on a picnic blanket—playing alone isn’t quite as much fun as having a friendly competitor. Wally and Wylie set up their dueling pianos. Soon the overachieving marsupials unicycle and flamethrow to stardom under the eucalyptus tree. They are the best—until they aren’t….Tep’s encouraging message about doing what you love despite not being the greatest of all time will spur children to explore life’s joys just for the pleasure it brings. (Regardless of cheeky parachuting wombats.) Pintonato’s vividly detailed illustrations comically highlight the myriad emotions clashing across put-upon Wally’s face. The unifying motif of the picnic blanket–patterned endpapers cleverly foreshadows the conflict resolution to come. The illustrator’s skillful use of negative space emphasizes the escalating mayhem to hilarious effect. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
This rollicking fable will resonate with aficionados, dilettantes, and prodigies everywhere. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-64896-180-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
A satisfyingly cozy winter holiday tale.
The protagonist of The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt (2020) enjoys a “boo-tiful” holiday.
The titular spirit—comprised of a patterned quilt rather than a plain white sheet like his peers—loves drifting outside in the cold. His heavier fabrics may slow him down the rest of the year, but in winter they keep him warm enough to enjoy the outdoors while his friends remain inside. One December evening, while visiting the human neighborhood, he notices people singing and putting up twinkling lights (amid the Christmas decorations, one window features a menorah). The little ghost quilt is happy for himself but sad that his pals aren’t witnessing all this, too. The sight of a holiday tree inspires him: He’ll bring a tree to his friends! A branch that blows off during a snowstorm will do nicely. For ornaments, he uses odds and ends from the attic of his house. And when his friends arrive at his home that night, everyone decorates the tree together. The moon, peeping through the window and reflecting off a mirror from the attic, provides the glorious pièce de résistance: The make-believe tree glows brilliantly. This quietly lovely holiday tale underscores the true meaning of the holidays: friendship and togetherness. The illustrations rely on a muted palette with spots of vivid colors; like a quilt, they’re soft and delicate. Human characters vary in skin tone.
A satisfyingly cozy winter holiday tale. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9781774885376
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
A thoughtful, candid look at self-reflection.
Sometimes this sunflower seed can be just plain rotten!
The book’s self-professed scoundrel opens with a warning. “I’m a bad seed. / A baaaaaaaaaaad seed.” Even other seeds whisper in agreement: that’s one bad seed. What makes this seed so bad? Well, he’s always late and lies often. He stares and glares and never listens. He cuts in line all the time and never washes his hands or feet. And he does other horrible things too bad to list. Young readers (and some older ones as well) will chuckle at the list of misdeeds, then perhaps wonder whether they’re guilty of such baaaaaaaaaaad behavior themselves, but John aims for more fruitful ground. What makes a seed go bad? A tragic back story provides at least one reason for the badness. When the rogue seed decides “to be happy” by doing good, it’s not so hard to cheer for him. Loudly. The change may seem abrupt, although there is a sense that being good takes time. Throughout the story, Oswald’s digital, watercolor-infused illustrations keep the focus exclusively on the titular bad seed, depicting the world around him hilariously reacting to his misbehavior and using close-ups—sometimes extreme ones—for comical effect. Small moments of goodness appear that much more profound as a result.
A thoughtful, candid look at self-reflection. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-246776-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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