A masterful must-read for young readers navigating their world.
A stunningly illustrated tale that does double duty as a primer on animal names and guidance on how to lead a good life.
Focusing on the profound connection between people and the natural world, Nelson (Hunkpapa Lakota) speaks lovingly to the ancestral knowledge we can glean from “the wild ones,” from “the Four-Leggeds and the Winged beings” to “the little Creepy-crawlies, the Water beings, and the Green, Growing Things.” Raven teaches us “to LISTEN and MAKE WISE CHOICES”; Mother Bear shows us how to “walk with STRENGTH and PROTECT those who are smaller and weaker.” Playful Otter shows us that “SMILES and LAUGHTER are good for our hearts.” Other creatures bring peril: Nelson warns readers not to be led astray by trickster Coyote’s jokes and to avoid Spider’s sticky web (“He reminds us that there may be DANGERS on the path ahead”). Clear, succinct text lists the Lakota name for each creature while acknowledging our unique relationship with the animal world. Nelson’s simple rhythmic words pair brilliantly with his muted, impressionistic illustrations, which rely on crayonlike shading and expressive shapes, lines, and color. Bold and eye-catching, his compositions are rife with details to reward careful readers. His joyful work preserves Lakota language for young people while planting seeds of kindness and empathy. Goodhouse (Standing Rock Sioux) provides the translation for the Lakota words used throughout.
A masterful must-read for young readers navigating their world. (author’s note) (Picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: March 17, 2026
ISBN: 9781419764448
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book.
Ada Twist’s incessant stream of questions leads to answers that help solve a neighborhood crisis.
Ada conducts experiments at home to answer questions such as, why does Mom’s coffee smell stronger than Dad’s coffee? Each answer leads to another question, another hypothesis, and another experiment, which is how she goes from collecting data on backyard birds for a citizen-science project to helping Rosie Revere figure out how to get her uncle Ned down from the sky, where his helium-filled “perilous pants” are keeping him afloat. The Questioneers—Rosie the engineer, Iggy Peck the architect, and Ada the scientist—work together, asking questions like scientists. Armed with knowledge (of molecules and air pressure, force and temperature) but more importantly, with curiosity, Ada works out a solution. Ada is a recognizable, three-dimensional girl in this delightfully silly chapter book: tirelessly curious and determined yet easily excited and still learning to express herself. If science concepts aren’t completely clear in this romp, relationships and emotions certainly are. In playful full- and half-page illustrations that break up the text, Ada is black with Afro-textured hair; Rosie and Iggy are white. A closing section on citizen science may inspire readers to get involved in science too; on the other hand, the “Ode to a Gas!” may just puzzle them. Other backmatter topics include the importance of bird study and the threat palm-oil use poses to rainforests.
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3422-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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