Reader beware, you just might explode…with laughter.
In this follow-up to Fluffy McWhiskers Cuteness Explosion (2021), a dangerously adorable kitty and her pug pal are a city’s only hope when an enormous kaiju begins wreaking havoc.
Crunchazaur eats everything—and everyone—in his path. Panic ensues as he gobbles up “all the top leaders and thinkers.” Luckily, their intern survives and knows just who to call: Fluffy McWhiskers and Potato the pug. These two are so precious that anyone who looks upon them instantly explodes. They inhabit a remote desert island—where they can’t inadvertently detonate anyone—but now might be the time to use their power for the good of all. They immediately begin practicing their most enticing poses and trying on their most fetching outfits. When their cuteness reaches catastrophic levels (and their island home blows up), they know they’re ready to save the world. They try to distract Crunchazaur with delicious pizzas, but he eats them anyway. Unfortunately for him, the duo are not only explosively cute—they are also explosively delicious, and with a “KA BOOM!,” Crunchazaur’s reign comes to an end. Blending extreme sweetness with a slyly mordant streak of humor, Martin and Tavis serve up an adventure just as goofy as this pair’s first outing. Featuring an all-animal cast, Tavis’ hand-drawn and digitally painted illustrations zing with color, energy, and cuteness; even the voracious Crunchazaur feels less like a rampaging Godzilla and more like an overexcited toddler.
Reader beware, you just might explode…with laughter. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: June 10, 2025
ISBN: 9781665956123
Page Count: 40
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note.
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
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)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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