An out-of-this-world adventure for kids who love the planet’s most popular sport.
Soccer-loving twins get a lesson in sportsmanship when they enter a fantastical land devoted to the beautiful game.
For the first time, siblings Pete and Zoe will also be teammates! In their season opener, the pair play brilliantly, earning a celebratory trip to the sports superstore Soccer World. While there, they bicker over a cool-looking ball that they both want. Chasing it into a storeroom, they discover a portal to a parallel universe also called Soccer World. Surrounded by incredible soccer players, Pete and Zoe continue arguing instead of appreciating the unique opportunity. Their poor sportsmanship costs them spots on the All-Star Team and earns them a reprimand from Ref Jeff. Contrite, they begin taking steps to change their behavior. At the Championship Game, two All-Star Team players are injured in a collision; they’re led off the field as the members of the rival team, the Slide Tackling Jackals, point and jeer. Ref Jeff gives the twins a chance at redemption by putting them into the game. Colorful, comic book–style illustrations heighten the action. The upbeat, punchy writing keeps the story moving while underscoring the importance of playing with fairness and courtesy. One quibble: Older readers may question how the rude rival team passed through the stadium’s “Sportsmanship Indicator 2000” scanner, which filters out bad sports. Main characters present white; the ensemble cast is diverse.
An out-of-this-world adventure for kids who love the planet’s most popular sport. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781536235845
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed.
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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