An enjoyable, repeatable read-aloud with memorable art that will have readers hoping for another outing with Hugo.
A dog resists playing dress-up with his little girl.
Milly is a little white girl with red hair who has a big yellow dog called Hugo, with whom she plays tea party and dress-up with until it's time for a walk. Hugo’s amiable until she ties a bow on him, and the humiliated dog gets rid of it as soon as possible—but there's a new bow the next day and the next.…After days of progressively more outlandish bows, Hugo runs away to the city. But after seeing a happy dog wearing a bow with its own happy little girl, he misses Milly and runs home to get her, leading her to a most distinguished-looking bow. The next day, Hugo struts through the streets with his new bow. Cotterill's art style is a delight, with blocks of colors and patterns, a mix of brights and earth tones reminiscent of 1960s European cartoons, and she adds heavy black lines sparingly—to best effect with facial expressions. The story's basic take-away is "life is better with friends" but also perfectly demonstrates how to reframe new experiences to allow joy over discomfort. There are some clever elements in the art, most notably the way Hugo uses his bow to make a classic “hobo stick” when he runs away.
An enjoyable, repeatable read-aloud with memorable art that will have readers hoping for another outing with Hugo. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-240870-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 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
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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