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LITTLE MOLE'S WISH

Name: LITTLE MOLE'S WISH
Author: Sang-Keun Kim
ISBN: 978-0-525-58134-5

by Sang-Keun Kim ; illustrated by Sang-Keun Kim ; translated by Chi-Young Kim ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 19, 2019

Stillness, tenderness, and hope are the essence of this quiet gem.

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Befriending someone made of snow holds certain risks.

Heading home to his grandmother, Little Mole finds a small snowball. He greets it, pushes it along so it grows far taller than him, and tells it a secret: “ ‘I just moved here. I don’t have any friends.’ / The snowball listened quietly.” He wants to bring this new friend home with him on the public bus, but these buses are for animals, not snow, and each driver nixes the idea. What if Little Mole shapes the snow into a bear? Gives it a snow-backpack or his own hat? Finally aboard a warm bus with his friend, Little Mole dozes off. When he wakens, the worst has happened. Most readers will understand why the snow-friend’s gone, but Little Mole doesn’t, and a great sadness ensues. Kim’s textual refrains (“Little Mole had a brilliant idea”; “He and his friend waited patiently”) are gently reassuring. The illustrations—done in colored pencil, pastel, and pen—are quiet and spare, showing snowy wilderness expanses with only a few trees and bus-stop signs. White snow blends softly into blue skies, with pale yellow used for warmth. Everything seems headed to the saddest possible ending, for how could a melted friend return? But after Little Mole’s sleepless night, the friend does return—or its likeness does—sitting across a snowy field, waiting. Did it come from magic or Grandma? Is there a difference?

Stillness, tenderness, and hope are the essence of this quiet gem. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Nov. 19, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-525-58134-5

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
STAR FISHING
by Sang-Keun Kim ; illustrated by Sang-Keun Kim ; translated by Ginger Ly

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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)