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LUISA, AT YOUR SERVICE!

Name: LUISA, AT YOUR SERVICE!
Author: Sara Amini
ISBN: 9780593856093

by Sara Amini ; illustrated by Juana Medina ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 25, 2026

A tour worth joining.

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A pipsqueak tour guide shows a group of tourists the best side of Salento, Colombia.

Luisa and her rooster, Pablo, get up early in the morning for one thing only. And it’s definitely not the list of chores that Mami leaves for Luisa. It’s TURISTAS! They come from all over to visit the Cocora Valley, where the tallest palm trees on the planet can be found. And who’s a better guide than the “pretty famous” Luisa, who knows “exactly what makes mi pueblito so special”? Plus, her tours are free! And so, the tour begins, starting with a visit to the plaza where Luisa’s green-and-white house can be found. Next, Luisa leads the visitors to the local cafe to say hi to cousin Oscar before moving on to la farmacia, la oficina de correos, and la iglesia. Medina’s scrappy illustrations for each spot help orient readers who may not be entirely familiar with the Spanish peppered throughout Luisa’s tour. Amini, meanwhile, injects bits of humor through the pint-size guide’s dry commentary, which keeps the whole proceedings on a peppy pace. As Luisa moves the tour along to the viejito who collects frogs, Mami’s tienda for souvenir shopping, the spot where Pablo threw up after eating chocolate, and everything that’s NOT the Cocora Valley, the Swiss turistas gamely follow along. Luckily, the delightful misadventures end on a satisfying note.

A tour worth joining. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2026

ISBN: 9780593856093

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
MIXED FEELINGS
by Sara Amini ; illustrated by Shadia Amin ; color by George Williams

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THE PUMPKIN THIEF

From the Leaf Thief series

by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 28, 2026

More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SUN THIEF
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SNOW THIEF
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BISON AND THE BUTTERFLY
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nancy Leschnikoff

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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)