A sweet story that turns the sadness of loss into the comfort of remembered love.
Kusserow’s children’s book follows a small dog as she comes to terms with life’s journey before becoming a star in the night sky to comfort her grieving sister.
Sisters Lucy (white with black patches, green neckerchief) and Bella (black with white patches, red bandana) are a mix of Pekingese and miniature poodle breeds (“Peekapoos”) whose small stature evokes a puppylike quality. Throughout their lives, the sisters have been inseparable; Lucy has always looked after Bella. When Bella feels a warm spark growing inside her chest, she leaves Lucy behind and sets out bravely on a journey of discovery. (“She does not know where she is going. She only knows something is calling her forward.”) She meets an alligator, who exemplifies patience; a cow, whose contentment rests upon an appreciation of the simple things; a monkey, who advocates joyous living; a mother bear, whose love for her cub evinces closeness and caring; and a bison, whose connection to the land speaks of timelessness. With each encounter, Bella comes to realize how Lucy, through play and comfort and unflagging companionship, has already taught her these lessons. After returning to her sister, Bella dies, and the spark in her blossoms into a golden star. Lucy is sad, but with Bella’s light shining brightly in the sky above, she comes to recognize that ache as enduring love. Kusserow relates Bella’s story in straightforward prose that’s cleverly formatted with his double-page illustrations to provide a sense of story progression. Though the text may prove a bit wordy for young readers, the illustrations are soft and dreamy, offering solace even while dealing with a difficult, emotional subject. Kusserow makes astute use of dark shades to mirror the fading of life and to underscore the growing, glowing heart, which may be interpreted as both the progression of Bella’s ailment and her understanding and acceptance of what’s to come. While the Peekapoos don’t vary much in how they’re depicted, they’re nonetheless adorable in their simple, wholehearted expression of feeling. Both children and adults will take heart from their sisterly bond.
A sweet story that turns the sadness of loss into the comfort of remembered love.Pub Date: May 27, 2026
ISBN: 9798995961512
Page Count: 44
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: July 10, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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