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
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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