Solid as a stand-alone for new readers or as a continuation of the conversation about gender expression started in the first...
When two students are bullied in the bathroom, their class makes new rules so that everyone can pee in peace in this follow-up to Jacob’s New Dress (2014).
Jacob, a white boy with blond hair, and his friend Sophie, a girl with brown skin and Afro-textured hair, need to use the bathroom after library time. Jacob wears a dress; Sophie has on a button-down shirt and khaki trousers. “Do you think it’s OK?” they worry together outside the gender-segregated lavs, each marked with the familiar blue, gendered icons. Entering the boys’ room, Jacob attracts unwelcoming stares, and Sophie is likewise driven from the girls’ room. With the help of their teacher, they work together with their classmates to design new signs and rules so that anyone can use the bathroom without fear. Case’s watercolor illustrations match the style of the first book’s and fill the page, inviting readers into Jacob’s diversely depicted class of students. Unlike in the first book, no children tell Jacob he can’t wear a dress, but his classmates still make assumptions about gender based on one another’s clothing choices. Their teacher’s lesson shows that there are more than two ways to dress—not all boys wear short hair, and not all girls wear long hair or dresses. Even their own classroom represents a spectrum of expressions. While the overall theme emphasizes inclusion, the language never moves beyond “boys and girls” when referring to gender identities; nonbinary identities are not explored.
Solid as a stand-alone for new readers or as a continuation of the conversation about gender expression started in the first book. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4338-3073-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Magination/American Psychological Association
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees.
After Duncan finds his crayons gone—yet again—letters arrive, detailing their adventures in friendship.
Eleven crayons send missives from their chosen spots throughout Duncan’s home (and one from his classroom). Red enjoys the thrill of extinguishing “pretend fires” with Duncan’s toy firetruck. White, so often dismissed as invisible, finds a new calling subbing in for the missing queen on the black-and-white chessboard. “Now everyone ALWAYS SEES ME!…(Well, half the time!)” Pink’s living the dream as a pastry chef helming the Breezy Bake Oven, “baking everything from little cupcakes…to…OTHER little cupcakes!” Teal, who’s hitched a ride to school in Duncan’s backpack, meets the crayons in the boy’s desk and writes, “Guess what? I HAVE A TWIN! How come you never told me?” Duncan wants to see his crayons and “meet their new friends.” A culminating dinner party assembles the crayons and their many guests: a table tennis ball, dog biscuits, a well-loved teddy bear, and more. The premise—personified crayons, away and back again—is well-trammeled territory by now, after over a dozen books and spinoffs, and Jeffers once more delivers his signature cartooning and hand-lettering. Though the pages lack the laugh-out-loud sight gags and side-splittingly funny asides of previous outings, readers—especially fans of the crayons’ previous outings—will enjoy checking in on their pals.
Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9780593622360
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
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