A purposeful but nonetheless evocative glimpse of rural Inuit life inspired by memories of egg gathering in the author’s...
What young Akuluk expects to be a dull visit with her grandparents in Nunavut turns out to be an immersive experience in Piusuituqait, or “the traditional ways.”
Hardly has she stepped off the plane from Yellowknife than Akuluk’s mood changes from regret to delight at seeing big Arctic hares by the roadside on the way to a warm welcome from her Anaana and Ataata. Next morning, dressed in a new atigi (fur parka), she ventures out with both to ride an ATV over rolling hills of aqpiit (cloudberries) to the sea. There, following her grandpa’s instructions, she helps to select and gather eggs of mitiq (eider ducks) from a nesting site. Then on her return she finds on her chair an amauti, a woman’s parka with a pouch for carrying babies (or, in her case, her stuffed polar bear Piulua), and falls asleep to dream of speckled eggs and future visits. Wright’s soft-focus illustrations usually center on the round, smiling faces of Akuluk and her family, but background details of dress and the subarctic landscape add atmospheric notes to the episode. The Inuktitut words threaded through the narrative are defined both in context and in more detail at the end. Its focus on an Inuit protagonist who lives south of the tundra and has relatives in Montréal is a valuable reminder to all readers that indigenous peoples are not confined to their traditional territories.
A purposeful but nonetheless evocative glimpse of rural Inuit life inspired by memories of egg gathering in the author’s youth. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-7722-7025-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Inhabit Media
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
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
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends
Gerald the elephant learns a truth familiar to every preschooler—heck, every human: “Waiting is not easy!”
When Piggie cartwheels up to Gerald announcing that she has a surprise for him, Gerald is less than pleased to learn that the “surprise is a surprise.” Gerald pumps Piggie for information (it’s big, it’s pretty, and they can share it), but Piggie holds fast on this basic principle: Gerald will have to wait. Gerald lets out an almighty “GROAN!” Variations on this basic exchange occur throughout the day; Gerald pleads, Piggie insists they must wait; Gerald groans. As the day turns to twilight (signaled by the backgrounds that darken from mauve to gray to charcoal), Gerald gets grumpy. “WE HAVE WASTED THE WHOLE DAY!…And for WHAT!?” Piggie then gestures up to the Milky Way, which an awed Gerald acknowledges “was worth the wait.” Willems relies even more than usual on the slightest of changes in posture, layout and typography, as two waiting figures can’t help but be pretty static. At one point, Piggie assumes the lotus position, infuriating Gerald. Most amusingly, Gerald’s elephantine groans assume weighty physicality in spread-filling speech bubbles that knock Piggie to the ground. And the spectacular, photo-collaged images of the Milky Way that dwarf the two friends makes it clear that it was indeed worth the wait.
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends . (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-9957-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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