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FAR FROM HOME

Name: FAR FROM HOME
Author: Sarah Parker Rubio
ISBN: 978-1-4964-3673-3

A STORY OF LOSS, REFUGE, AND HOPE

by Sarah Parker Rubio ; illustrated by Fátima Anaya ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 8, 2019

Nobly intentioned, certainly misguided. (Picture book. 4-8)

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Forced to leave home, a young boy finds comfort in a story of Jesus Christ.

An unnamed boy living in an unnamed desert village in Syria is rudely awoken one night when his parents tell him that their country is no longer safe, that they must flee. The boy hates both the thought of leaving and the reality of waiting to arrive at a destination, and his frustrations boil over in a tearful outburst. An old woman in a refugee camp tells him one of her “favorite stories”: that of the infant Jesus Christ and his flight to Egypt. Using the words of the boy’s own flight, she hearteningly points out that despite the successes of Jesus’ ministry, “he never forgot what it was like—the leaving and the waiting and the different.” Notably, the old woman never names Jesus in the story; readers, however, will likely infer his identity through the illustrations. All characters are dark-haired and olive-skinned; the family and other refugees are cued as Muslim, with the women and girls wearing hijab in public. The old woman, dressed in peasant clothing evocative of Turkey or the Caucasus, also appears in hijab—a disconcerting contradiction to her evident belief in aspects of Jesus’ story not subscribed to in Islam. This contradiction is never addressed in the text; indeed, the text never addresses much at all, delivering a warm but bland tale of faiths coming together. The resolution fails to delve deeply into the struggle of adjustment, further undermining the story’s emotional impact.

Nobly intentioned, certainly misguided. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-4964-3673-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Tyndale House

Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S RELIGIOUS FICTION

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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: today

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2026

Categories:

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

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THE SUN THIEF
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater

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THE SNOW THIEF
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater

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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)