A bouncy and buoyant take on the changing seasons.
Two siblings remark upon the seasons, exploring and playing in nature.
A child bursts into the room of a younger sibling, declaring, “it’s sunny!” “And early,” the other replies. The two head outside on a bright day and revel in all that spring has to offer. It’s not just sunny, but also “mucky” and “ducky” at the pond. The next series of spreads depicts a day of play in what is clearly summer (“ ‘it’s muggy…’ ‘and buggy!’ ”), followed by fall (“it’s windy and squirrelly!”) and winter (“I’m warm and socksy”). The children’s observations capture the sensory experiences of the seasons, many of them making unexpected connections depicted by the illustrations. (Summer is “fuzzy” when you’re holding a caterpillar.) Parts of speech are creatively employed: Fall is “goodbye-y” when you’re watching geese fly south for the winter, and winter itself can be “waity” if you’re staring out the window, longing for some snow to play in. The playful rhymes flow easily, beg to be read aloud, and would work well as creative writing prompts in elementary classrooms. There is a distinctly peppy, perky quality to the artwork: All the characters, depicted as White and living in what appears to be a middle-class home near a lake, are freckled, apple-cheeked, and nearly always smiling. The bows in the older child’s hair even consistently appear as if hearts are always floating nearby. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-21-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
A bouncy and buoyant take on the changing seasons. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4181-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts.
In this latest slice in the Food Group series, Humble Pie learns to stand up to a busy friend who’s taking advantage of his pal’s hard work on the sidelines.
Jake the Cake and Humble Pie are good friends. Where Pie is content to toil in the background, Jake happily shines in the spotlight. Alert readers will notice that Pie’s always right there, too, getting A-pluses and skiing expertly just behind—while also doing the support work that keeps every school and social project humming. “Fact: Nobody notices pie when there’s cake nearby!” When the two friends pair up for a science project, things begin well. But when the overcommitted Jake makes excuse after excuse, showing up late or not at all, a panicked Pie realizes that they won’t finish in time. When Jake finally shows up on the night before the project’s due, Pie courageously confronts him. “And for once, I wasn’t going to sugarcoat it.” The friends talk it out and collaborate through the night for the project’s successful presentation in class the next day. John and Oswald’s winning recipe—plentiful puns and delightful visual jokes—has yielded another treat here. The narration does skew didactic as it wraps up: “There’s nothing wrong with having a tough conversation, asking for help, or making sure you’re being treated fairly.” But it’s all good fun, in service of some gentle lessons about social-emotional development.
A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780063469730
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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