A sweet and gently humorous story that offers a fresh spin on the Thanksgiving holiday.
In Blue and Wilcox’s picture book, a turkey competes against an arrogant raccoon in a footrace for a special prize.
This rhyming harvest-time adventure follows Gibby, a spirited turkey eager to give her Grammy the perfect Thanksgiving gift —a heart-shaped rock perched atop a mountain peak. Along with her best friend, a rabbit named Roni, she gathers treasures for the holiday. The brash raccoon Stinky Brix and his crew challenge Gibby to a race for the prize of the heart-shaped rock (“I’ll win by a mile”), and Gibby’s confidence flags. Her training for the race (she’s coached by Roni) is marked by reversals, including storms, doubts, and moments of feeling too slow. Young readers are reminded of how a few kind words can lift someone’s spirits as Roni cheers Gibby on. Blue and Wilcox’s picture book draws readers in with its feather-light touch, offering just enough warmth and whimsy; Patino’s illustrations add color and a gentle charm. The spirit of Thanksgiving runs throughout the story, reminding readers that real victories in life come from kindness, caring, and helping one another. (The prize isn’t the rock, but the happiness that flows from giving and sharing with the ones you love.) This is a perfect tale to read aloud during the holiday season and will have children laughing out loud.
A sweet and gently humorous story that offers a fresh spin on the Thanksgiving holiday.Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2025
ISBN: 9798999624406
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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