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ÂMÎ OSÂWÂPIKONES (DEAR DANDELION)

This tribute to a precious flowering plant will capture readers’ hearts.

A playful, lyrical, and persuasive love letter to a dandelion.

Okemow (Nêhiyaw/Plains Cree) weaves an important message throughout this picture book that follows a dandelion through each of the four seasons: Every living thing has value and brings “joy to others.” Each season begins with the same greeting: “Dear Osâwâpikones,” Plains Cree for dandelion. Over the course of a year, a cheerful tan-skinned child, cued as Indigenous, watches as Dandelion sprouts, spreads its seeds, lies dormant in the winter, and then grows anew come spring. Referring to the flower as a “bouquet of light,” the child narrator makes clear that Dandelion is no pesky weed. As the child draws, cuddles with an adult, dances, and plays in the snow, Dandelion is always there, offering life lessons: persevere when faced with challenges; kindness connects all living things; rest and be silent while pursuing hopes and dreams. Okemow presents resilience last: “You remind me, always, we are more than just one thing. / Even when things are hard, / you still bloom.” Alliterative phrasing (“cracks in concrete,” “season of strawberries”) heightens the vivid imagery of the verse. Bright, flat colors bring the story to life; a buzzing bee that appears on various spreads helps pull the tale together. Cree terms are used throughout; a glossary is appended. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

This tribute to a precious flowering plant will capture readers’ hearts. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-8)

Pub Date: May 23, 2023

ISBN: 9781773217406

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Annick Press

Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023

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THE HALLOWEEN TREE

Just the thing for anyone with a Grinch-y tree of their own in the yard.

A grouchy sapling on a Christmas tree farm finds that there are better things than lights and decorations for its branches.

A Grinch among the other trees on the farm is determined never to become a sappy Christmas tree—and never to leave its spot. Its determination makes it so: It grows gnarled and twisted and needle-less. As time passes, the farm is swallowed by the suburbs. The neighborhood kids dare one another to climb the scary, grumpy-looking tree, and soon, they are using its branches for their imaginative play, the tree serving as a pirate ship, a fort, a spaceship, and a dragon. But in winter, the tree stands alone and feels bereft and lonely for the first time ever, and it can’t look away from the decorated tree inside the house next to its lot. When some parents threaten to cut the “horrible” tree down, the tree thinks, “Not now that my limbs are full of happy children,” showing how far it has come. Happily for the tree, the children won’t give up so easily, and though the tree never wished to become a Christmas tree, it’s perfectly content being a “trick or tree.” Martinez’s digital illustrations play up the humorous dichotomy between the happy, aspiring Christmas trees (and their shoppers) and the grumpy tree, and the diverse humans are satisfyingly expressive.

Just the thing for anyone with a Grinch-y tree of their own in the yard. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-4926-7335-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019

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CHICKA CHICKA TRICKA TREAT

From the Chicka Chicka Book series

A bit predictable but pleasantly illustrated.

Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault’s classic alphabet book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989) gets the Halloween treatment.

Chung follows the original formula to the letter. In alphabetical order, each letter climbs to the top of a tree. They are knocked back to the ground in a jumble before climbing up in sequence again. In homage to the spooky holiday theme, they scale a “creaky old tree,” and a ghostly jump scare causes the pileup. The chunky, colorful art is instantly recognizable. The charmingly costumed letters (“H swings a tail. / I wears a patch. J and K don / bows that don’t match”) are set against a dark backdrop, framed by pages with orange or purple borders. The spreads feature spiderwebs and jack-o’-lanterns. The familiar rhyme cadence is marred by the occasional clunky or awkward phrase; in particular, the adapted refrain of “Chicka chicka tricka treat” offers tongue-twisting fun, but it’s repeatedly followed by the disappointing half-rhyme “Everybody sneaka sneak.” Even this odd construction feels shoehorned into place, since “sneaking” makes little sense when every character in the book is climbing together. The final line of the book ends on a more satisfying note, with “Everybody—time to eat!”

A bit predictable but pleasantly illustrated. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: July 15, 2025

ISBN: 9781665954785

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025

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