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NOBODY BUT ME

Name: NOBODY BUT ME
Author: Sara Lundberg
ISBN: 9781644215241

by Sara Lundberg ; illustrated by Sara Lundberg ; translated by B.J. Woodstein ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 7, 2026

This maybe-fantastical story of a child’s burgeoning independence rewards the open-minded and the keen-eyed.

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In this Swedish import, a youngster’s imagination (or is it reality?) leads to quite the summer adventure.

The story begins with a pale-skinned mother and child at an outdoor swimming spot. With Mom’s prompting, the child puts on a life jacket, then sets off in an inflatable boat while Mom is gabbing with another parent. The protagonist floats through a jungle, observed by children who seem to live in the trees, winds through a town in which citizens apparently don’t notice the little one (although the jungle children, who have followed along, do), and plunges down a waterfall. The jungle kids rescue the little one and shepherd the child back to the swimming spot, where Mom’s still yakking. Has any time elapsed? It’s all very Where the Wild Things Are, although the illustrations, which resemble impressionistic, ultra-saturated watercolors, are uniquely Lundberg’s. The story is wordless throughout the pages in which the child is out of Mom’s sight line; the mother-and-child dialogues before and after the adventure are the book’s only text—and the story’s emotional core. So, was the journey all in the youngster’s mind? It seems likely, and yet an object that looks like a souvenir of the little one’s travels suggests otherwise.

This maybe-fantastical story of a child’s burgeoning independence rewards the open-minded and the keen-eyed. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: April 7, 2026

ISBN: 9781644215241

Page Count: 64

Publisher: Triangle Square Books for Young Readers

Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
THE CAT WAY
by Sara Lundberg ; illustrated by Sara Lundberg ; translated by B.J. Woodstein

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BIRD IN ME FLIES
by Sara Lundberg ; illustrated by Sara Lundberg ; translated by B.J. Epstein

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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)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)