POLAR BEAR POSTMAN

Name: POLAR BEAR POSTMAN
Author: Seigo Kijima
ISBN: 978-1-940842-21-9

by Seigo Kijima ; illustrated by Seigo Kijima ; translated by Mariko Shii Gharbi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2017

Kijima’s combination of thick lines and delicate use of color is a plus, but it takes some work to prize out the themes of...

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A bird chick goes missing, which offers an opportunity to discuss the potential loss of other creatures.

Polar bear Milk, the postman of the northern forest, receives a plea—in the form of a postcard—from the red-crowned cranes. They have lost their chick and are enlisting Milk’s help, as Milk sees everyone while he makes his rounds. Using heavy black outlines for his characters, Kijima works in a rich array of habitats, evoking them with slashes of color and whispering swipes of clouds. In double-page spreads that capture the different times of day, Milk meets up with the sika deer, the Siberian chipmunk, the Blakiston’s fish owl, and other denizens of the far north. Though it goes unspoken, global warming imperils all of these animals, and Milk’s repetitive plea to his friends takes on a drumbeat of impending danger for them. Meanwhile, the chick is still missing as the seasons pass. With all the naming of the creatures of the northern forest, the story has curiously pushed the poor little chick somewhat into the background even though he is brought up each page. Finally, there is a joyous reunion, though the atmosphere of missing children lays a fog over the few final pages leading to the chick’s discovery.

Kijima’s combination of thick lines and delicate use of color is a plus, but it takes some work to prize out the themes of missing children and climate change. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-940842-21-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Museyon

Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

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BEST BUNNY BROTHER EVER

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Tim Bowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 6, 2026

A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note.

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Little Honey Bunny Funnybunny loves baseball almost as much as she loves her big brother P.J.—though it’s a close-run thing.

Readers familiar with the pranks P.J. plays on his younger sibling in older episodes of the series (most illustrated by Roger Bollen) will be amused—and perhaps a little confused—to see him in the role of perfect big brother after meeting his swaddled little sister for the first time in mama’s lap. But here, along with being a constant companion and “always happy to see her,” he cements his heroic status in her eyes by hitting a home run for his baseball team and then patiently teaching her how to play T-ball. After carefully coaching her and leading her through warm-up exercises, he even sits in the stands, loudly cheering her on as she scores the winning run in her own very first game. “‘You are the best brother a bunny could ever have!’” she burbles. This tale’s a tad blander compared with others centered on P.J. and his sister, but it’s undeniably cheery, with text well structured for burgeoning readers. The all-smiles animal cast in Bowers’ cartoon art features a large and diversely hued family of bunnies sporting immense floppy ears as well as a multispecies crowd of furry onlookers equally varied of color, with one spectator in a wheelchair.

A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note. (Early reader. 6-8)

Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026

ISBN: 9798217032464

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: March 17, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

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PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

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PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

by James Dean ; illustrated by James Dean ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 18, 2018

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among

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Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.

If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)