A solid story of community togetherness, featuring especially lovely visuals.
A community comes together to repair a neglected old trail.
It’s springtime, and Bibi Bernstein and her neighbors on Longview Lane are taking in the sun. Shy Bibi seeks out her favorite place: the Old Rail Trail. Once covered by train tracks, the area was subsequently paved over and abandoned. Bibi finds the cracked trail and nearby litter-filled stream “dirty but peaceful,” since no one is ever around…at least not usually. But when she runs into Mr. Fogelman and Mrs. Lin, they ask if she can make a poster for their “Step Out! Step Up!” project—an effort to transform the path into a welcoming space. Backmatter explains that the story is rooted in the Jewish concept of tikkun olam, or “repairing the world.” The Hebrew words are displayed over Mr. Fogelman’s garage. Accompanied by Hale’s appealing, pastel-hued, collagelike illustrations, this message-driven tale showcases an idyllic community. The narrative is grounded by Bibi’s shyness and hesitations; Schotter emphasizes that everyone can contribute to bettering the world in their own special way, though the concluding text that encourages readers to join in when hearing a community call to action (“don’t be shy…Step out and step up!”) somewhat undermines the empathetic portrayal of timidity. Bibi is pale-skinned; her neighbors vary in skin tone.
A solid story of community togetherness, featuring especially lovely visuals. (history of rail trails) (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: June 2, 2026
ISBN: 9781536238525
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
A charming friendship story and great setup for future books.
Curious about the Big Wide World outside his Sasquatch community, Hugo makes a friend who is of it.
Sasquatch Hugo’s bedroom is inside a cave and possesses the charming feature of a small stream running through it that he can sail his little toy boat on. It’s cool, but he yearns to see the Big Wide World. When he asks his smart friend Gigi if a Sasquatch might become a sailor, she says it’s possible but would be difficult—the primary rule of their people is to not be seen by Humans. Then, in everyone’s favorite Hide and Go Sneak class, which is held outside, a Human appears; Hugo laughs at the sight, drawing Human attention in a taboo-breaking mistake. Shortly after, Hugo’s toy boat floats into the cave with a Human toy—soon, it’s facilitating a pen-pal–type relationship that’s derailed when Hugo confesses to being a Sasquatch and Human Boone, a budding cryptozoologist, doesn’t believe him. How Hugo and Boone resolve this misapprehension and become friends in a joint search for the Ogopogo concludes this series opener. Potter keeps the third-person narrative tightly focused on Hugo’s perspective, and the details she uses to flesh out the Sasquatch world are delightfully playful. Sala’s drawings depict a homey Sasquatch cavern community, Boone as a freckled, white boy, and Hugo as a hairily benevolent behemoth.
A charming friendship story and great setup for future books. (final art unseen) (Fantasy. 5-9)Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2859-4
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
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