Capybara fans and lovers of wordplay will find this a thoroughly clap-ybara-worthy romp.
Two capybara companions set off for Alaska—one brimming with excitement, the other decidedly less enthusiastic.
With efficiency and wit, Bardhan-Quallen swiftly establishes her central conceit: One character is a “Happybara,” the other an “Unhappybara.” The book’s engine runs entirely on portmanteaux ending with “bara,” strung together in quick succession as the duo navigate the indignities and delights of travel: “thwap-ybara” as a seatmate elbows Unhappybara on the airplane, a thrilled “grand-ybara!” upon glimpsing a gorgeous mountain view, a “catnap-ybara” in a hot spring, and an alarming “oh, snap-ybara” when Unhappybara accidentally hooks an orca while fishing. The pacing is nimble, and the layouts vary smartly, pairing mostly double-page spreads with a couple of pages featuring montages that rattle off several coined terms at once, building comic momentum. Appert’s illustrations are fun and rounded, relying on bluish-gray tones that give the snowy Alaskan landscape real atmosphere. The roly-poly capybaras are expressive despite minimal facial detail. The book’s emotional arc, in which Unhappybara eventually learns to embrace the joys of travel, resolves gently and without moralizing; the friendship itself, tested by snoring, mishaps, and cold nights, emerges as the throughline. The closing spread finds the pair back at the airport, one already eyeing a rack of destination brochures—signaling more adventures ahead that readers will be eager to join. The joke density is high; so is the rereadability factor.
Capybara fans and lovers of wordplay will find this a thoroughly clap-ybara-worthy romp. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 7, 2026
ISBN: 9780316600934
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
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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
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
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BOOK REVIEW
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