Braids together the personal and the communal—and will hopefully inspire real classrooms to follow suit.
Craftsmanship and memories form the basis for a new kind of classroom tale.
When a new fad hits Class 203 at Margaret Bennett Elementary School, the students begin braiding anything and everything: hair, shoelaces, the tails of toy ponies. Pale-skinned, ruddy-cheeked Noah finds himself without anything on hand, so his sympathetic teacher tears up some rags for him. After his dad shows him how to sew the braided strips together, Noah proceeds to make a longer and longer braid, inspiring his classmates to do the same. Soon kids are contributing pieces of fabric laden with personal significance, sewing strips together until the braid “stretches all the way down the hallway from room 203 to room 201 and back again.” The question of what to do with the braid is soon answered as Noah begins coiling it. Eventually, the class creates a beautiful storytime rug made of fabric that represents the children’s memories. Wahl’s art, which features both digital and collaged elements, depicts a diverse classroom as well as an array of eclectic colors and patterns found on rugs, clothing, and even books. Aside from Noah’s initial pensiveness, this story contains little conflict. What it may lack in drama, however, it makes up for in deep and abiding comfort.
Braids together the personal and the communal—and will hopefully inspire real classrooms to follow suit. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 14, 2026
ISBN: 9780316535380
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Toad and Little Blue Truck get ready for a hayride.
After the titular vehicle is loaded with hay, Toad is nowhere to be found. “Beep! Beep! Beep! Where are you, Toad?” asks Little Blue Truck. All the barnyard animals look for him. Sheep searches the meadow. Goose and Duck check the pond. Others pitch in, too, but Toad seems to have disappeared…until Hen hears snoring coming from the pile of hay in the back of Little Blue Truck. Although the text’s scansion is imperfect in places (adults may want to pre-read to ensure a smooth read-aloud), the bouncy meter and rhyming text nevertheless capture the energy of the search and the farmyard community’s concern for Toad’s safety, making this a solid storytime choice. Eye-catching illustrations with rich, fully saturated colors balance the right level of detail while still highlighting the animal that is the focus of each verse. By introducing one farm animal at a time, Schertle also helps the youngest readers begin to identify barnyard animals by name and understand their unique farm homes. Traditional animal sounds are part of the text, and listeners will add them to their vocabulary. It all ends with the promised hayride, bringing the tale to a joyous ending.
Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2026
ISBN: 9780063436121
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.
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)Pub Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781464268076
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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