Ideal antidote for anxious kids facing their own Worries.
A boy’s fear of playing his trumpet at his first concert nearly overwhelms him until he confides in his mother.
Jack loves playing his trumpet and looks forward to his “first-ever concert,” but on concert day he wakes with a Worry. Jack tries hiding under his blanket and his bed, but his Worry follows him. With his Worry in tow, Jack can’t enjoy the special breakfast his mother has made. He runs around the yard and plays his trumpet, but his Worry remains. Eventually, a distraught Jack confesses he doesn’t want to go to the concert because he’s afraid of making a mistake and his mother won’t love him anymore. When she assures him she’ll love him even if he plays “every note wrong,” all ends on a high note. Whimsical pencil-and-acrylic illustrations use swift, sketchy lines and color washes to visually take Jack from confident anticipation to debilitating fear. Before his Worry arrives, Jack appears center-page, self-assuredly playing his trumpet with notes joyously swirling across the page. Then Jack’s Worry appears, first as a small, somewhat-innocuous, blue-green blob, quickly morphing into a large, dark, ominous, overshadowing presence, sapping Jack’s confidence. However, once Jack confronts his Worry, it shrinks, leaving him smiling and empowered. Jack and his mom are white, but his friends and orchestra-mates are nicely diverse.
Ideal antidote for anxious kids facing their own Worries. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 26, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7845-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
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
Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Toad and Little Blue Truck get ready for a hayride.
After the titular vehicle is loaded with hay, Toad is nowhere to be found. “Beep! Beep! Beep! Where are you, Toad?” asks Little Blue Truck. All the barnyard animals look for him. Sheep searches the meadow. Goose and Duck check the pond. Others pitch in, too, but Toad seems to have disappeared…until Hen hears snoring coming from the pile of hay in the back of Little Blue Truck. Although the text’s scansion is imperfect in places (adults may want to pre-read to ensure a smooth read-aloud), the bouncy meter and rhyming text nevertheless capture the energy of the search and the farmyard community’s concern for Toad’s safety, making this a solid storytime choice. Eye-catching illustrations with rich, fully saturated colors balance the right level of detail while still highlighting the animal that is the focus of each verse. By introducing one farm animal at a time, Schertle also helps the youngest readers begin to identify barnyard animals by name and understand their unique farm homes. Traditional animal sounds are part of the text, and listeners will add them to their vocabulary. It all ends with the promised hayride, bringing the tale to a joyous ending.
Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2026
ISBN: 9780063436121
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
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