An entertaining trickster tale brought to life by intriguing artwork in an unusual medium.
A mouse outwits a dog and cat and snags a tasty treat.
House dog Tag loves his well-worn “squeaker ball,” a tennis-ball noisemaker with a chewed-out hole in it. He tosses, dribbles, rolls, and squeaks it tirelessly and mourns dramatically when it rolls under the couch. The cat, meanwhile, smirks and bids the plaything “good riddance!” When a mouse slips inside the ball (this is not shown in the artwork, so children must use their inferencing skills) unbeknownst to the other animals, Tag becomes convinced that the squeaker can talk. The mouse convinces Tag to toss him (still concealed inside the toy) onto the kitchen counter and—without blowing his disguise—rewards both the dog and himself with a snack. The cat is suspicious (“I smell a rat”), but the mouse cleverly manages to escape. This underdog (undermouse?) story about a diminutive hero who gets his superiors to literally play ball with his schemes will resonate with young children, who must answer to the grown-ups in their lives. The three-dimensional scrap-art illustrations, rendered using “dug relics” (metal fragments) from the 1800s, capture the characters’ personalities and nuances of body language to a remarkable degree. The engaging backmatter includes facts and discussion prompts related to the metal art that may inspire children to create their own found-object sculptures.
An entertaining trickster tale brought to life by intriguing artwork in an unusual medium. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-68446-426-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Capstone Editions
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.
Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.
Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781464268076
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2026
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
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