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ROCK WHAT YA GOT

Name: ROCK WHAT YA GOT
Author: Samantha Berger
ISBN: 978-0-316-56150-1

by Samantha Berger ; illustrated by Kerascoët ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 25, 2018

A book for new and seasoned artists alike.

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An artist’s sketch of a little girl comes alive with a message of self-love in Berger and Kerascoët’s debut collaboration.

“Once upon a black piece of paper, where anything could happen… / an artist picked up a pencil and started to draw.” And where pencil meets paper, little Viva comes to be. But something about Viva isn’t right, or so her artist thinks, and down comes the eraser until Viva jumps right off the page in protest. “Excuse me, lady artist, ma’am, / but I like me the way I am,” she insists, and as her artist tries changing Viva’s hair, her body, and her background (all to no avail), Viva responds with variations on a refrain: “Find what is yours and carve out your spot… / take it and love it and rock it a lot!” Berger’s prose is a joyous celebration of self-love and empowerment, as Viva not only challenges her artist’s perfectionism to reframe supposed flaws, but also reminds her that “rock what ya got” was once the artist’s own powerful mantra. Kerascoët captures this same exuberance and breathes life into every inch of the page, juxtaposing the realistic world of the artist with Viva’s two-dimensional vibrancy. Nostalgia features heavily here but doesn’t weigh down the otherwise energetic narrative. Viva’s look is informed by the artist’s self-image, and both are illustrated as racially ambiguous, with beige skin and vigorously curly dark hair.

A book for new and seasoned artists alike. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-316-56150-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: June 23, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
G IS FOR GRATITUDE
by Samantha Berger ; illustrated by Ann Shen

- BOOK REVIEW
THE TOTALLY NOT WICKED STEPMOTHER
by Samantha Berger ; illustrated by Neha Rawat

- BOOK REVIEW
THE VERY MERRY POOP CHRISTMAS
by Samantha Berger ; illustrated by Manny Galán

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK LOST AND FOUND

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 18, 2026

Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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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)