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HENRI & MIKO

Name: HENRI & MIKO
Author: Rebecca Green
ISBN: 9781774880647

AUTUMN IN BOSK OLIVETTE

From the Henri & Miko series

by Rebecca Green ; illustrated by Rebecca Green ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2026

A beguiling ode to autumn; the other three seasons must be bursting with jealousy to go next.

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The auspicious beginning of a truly precious woodland community.

Past Phelps County Orchard, in a golden-leafed patch of forest called Bosk Olivette, lies an abandoned cider press. Its inhabitants, Henri, a long-legged mouse, and her pal Miko, the rosy-cheeked bee, enjoy the cozy magic of autumn, whether taking in the changing colors of the leaves or savoring seasonal dishes. Following an introduction, two relatively brief chapters follow the friends as they observe Leaf Day (a holiday made up by spunky Miko: “We can do anything as long as it involves leaves”) and seek out a frightful experience…or at least a scary movie. The use of smaller, comics-esque panels, precisely detailed artwork, and descriptive narration means that this book demands readers’ focus, but it’s well worth it; Green’s sumptuous illustrations will immerse youngsters within an entirely enticing world. Visual charms are evident on every page, from cutaway images showing the cider press and surrounding areas to the use of subtle highlights during evening scenes. Between stories, Green includes a couple of poems, a recipe for Cinnamon Apple Crumb Crumb, and a guide to drawing a witchy Miko. An epilogue sees the pals dealing with the transition from autumn to winter and preserving treasured memories so that they can last all year long; count this book among the seasonal gems worth revisiting and savoring like scones and tea with an old friend.

A beguiling ode to autumn; the other three seasons must be bursting with jealousy to go next. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2026

ISBN: 9781774880647

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Tundra Books

Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026

Categories:

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SPAGHETTI HEAD & CHICKEN FINGERS

by Rhett McLaughlin & Link Neal ; illustrated by Erica Salcedo ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 16, 2026

Wild and wacky.

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A picture book from the comedy duo known as Rhett & Link, creators of the online juggernaut Good Mythical Morning.

Lumo is obsessed with chicken fingers; Saffy, who is new to town and anxious about starting school, finds comfort in the only food she likes: buttered spaghetti. The night before the first day of school, a thunderstorm rages, and each kid makes a wish—“to have chicken fingers at school,” in Lumo’s case; Saffy wishes for “the first thing off the top of her head: buttered spaghetti.” File under “Be careful what you wish for.” Lumo’s and Saffy’s respective physical changes (chicken fingers for fingers, spaghetti for hair) make navigating school a challenge but bring them together in the cafeteria, where they enjoy some new foods—and their new friendship. The plotting could have been sharper: Why do the kids’ bodies suddenly return to normal? And couldn’t the authors have thought up a less old-hat story-ending punch line? Nevertheless, McLaughlin and Neal get by on their charm, and the plot sets up some funny visuals. Salcedo’s cartoony Photoshop art features well-chosen artifacts from a typical kid’s life and captures the mortification of not fitting in, which will be familiar even to readers who have never experienced breaded fingers or noodle hair. Lumo is brown-skinned and dark-haired; Saffy is pale-skinned with disheveled reddish-brown hair.

Wild and wacky. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: June 16, 2026

ISBN: 9780063474154

Page Count: 32

Publisher: HarperPop/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: March 23, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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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)