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THE SNOWMAN AND THE SUN

Name: THE SNOWMAN AND THE SUN
Author: Susan Taghdis
ISBN: 978-1-910328-79-8

by Susan Taghdis ; illustrated by Ali Mafakheri ; translated by Azita Rassi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 2, 2021

Bizarre.

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A snowman makes his way through the water cycle.

The snowman stands in the sun, wondering what will happen if he melts; a bald White boy sits near him. The snowman does, indeed, melt and then becomes water on the ground, wondering if he will evaporate. He turns into “tiny little water droplets,” morphs into a cloud, and falls back to the ground as snow. The snowman, now a snowdrift, spots the boy and asks to be made into a snowman again. The story, with text laid out in a somewhat cutesy, bouncy typeface, conveys elements of the water cycle, but some children may find it unsettling that it’s the protagonist who keeps morphing and, in the end, winks to the boy as snow on the ground when asking to be reformed. Visually, it can be somewhat confusing: Attempts to perhaps convey a surreal tone—the boy eating ice cream in winter; clouds with what appear to be buttons (are they also former snowmen?); a bee on a bicycle during winter; the boy’s ice cream hanging upside down as a kind of light bulb in his home; and more—may leave readers feeling baffled. In the end, readers see the newly rebuilt snowman, “waiting for the sun to appear,” and infer he will experience the same series of events once again. At least he’s smiling about it.

Bizarre. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-910328-79-8

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Tiny Owl

Review Posted Online: Aug. 10, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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THE PUMPKIN THIEF

From the Leaf Thief series

by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 28, 2026

More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SUN THIEF
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SNOW THIEF
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BISON AND THE BUTTERFLY
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nancy Leschnikoff

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THE HALLOWEEN TREE

by Susan McElroy Montanari ; illustrated by Teresa Martínez ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 6, 2019

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

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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)