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NOOR AND THE STORYTELLER

Name: NOOR AND THE STORYTELLER
Author: Seina Wedlick
ISBN: 9780063345058

by Seina Wedlick ; illustrated by Leah Giles ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 27, 2026

An energetic, visually gorgeous celebration of the oral tradition.

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The student becomes the master when an eager listener finds an audience of her own.

Noor pats her drum—“TAP! TAP! TAP!”—as “she sits and waits for a familiar sound to ring in the night.” Soon, “GONG! GONG! GONG!” It’s the Storyteller, calling Noor and her neighbors to gather. “Night after night,” Noor perches at his feet as the Storyteller entrances crowds with his “colorful characters” and tales weaving “proverbs and funny riddles.” One night, Noor “pats out a tune. TAP! TAP! TAP!” She unspools a folktale of her own, her whispering voice a beacon to her growing crowd. Like the practiced Storyteller, young Noor animates lively tales of “majestic animals and characters in sparkling clothes” as she joyfully conveys a captivating tale rivaling the griot’s. Giles’ marvelously detailed and expressive illustrations of both animals and humans, who all have dark brown skin, curve and sprawl across spreads of elaborately layered digital collages of printed paper and textiles, reminiscent of Ekua Holmes’ textured work. Cool jewel tones pop against the nighttime setting, while stylized and symbolic art elements capture the excitement, place, and magical possibilities of this tale. Share alongside Evan Turk’s The Storyteller (2016), with drum taps to draw a storytime crowd of your own.

An energetic, visually gorgeous celebration of the oral tradition. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2026

ISBN: 9780063345058

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
NAMING CEREMONY
by Seina Wedlick ; illustrated by Jenin Mohammed

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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)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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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)