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STUBBY

Name: STUBBY
Author: Sydra Mallery
ISBN: 9780062364319

A PENCIL'S JOURNEY

by Sydra Mallery ; illustrated by John Hare ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 30, 2026

Richer and more moving than a story narrated by a pencil has a right to be.

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A pencil’s origin story, as told by itself.

“You aren’t going to believe this, but when I was little, I was actually very big.” So begins the autobiography of Stubby, a cedar tree–turned–short yellow pencil who has googly eyes, a couple of teeth, and a good feel for storytelling (“It all started in a forest”). Mallery’s offering is more than an educational book that plays like an adventure story (one machine “cut me from my roots”; another “skimmed off my branches”). After Stubby winds up in a classroom, having been purchased from a store as part of a boxed-pencil 10-pack, the book becomes one writing implement’s improbably affecting search for a permanent user. Stubby weathers much classroom drama (“I rolled under Felix Johnson’s desk”; “Cherry snatched me and sharpened me”) until the pencil finally finds a child who is loyal. Hare’s digitally futzed-with art—originally created with, yes, a pencil—features tidy lines and a cheery palette dominated by blues, greens, and yellows. The illustrator effectively relies on panels to instill order in a book that covers a lot of ground. Young readers will likely pore over a two-page spread that shows Stubby going through a transformation at a pencil factory (“Look out! More glue!”), and the final page contains a twist unlikely to be foreseen by readers of any age. Human characters vary in skin tone.

Richer and more moving than a story narrated by a pencil has a right to be. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: June 30, 2026

ISBN: 9780062364319

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
A MOST UNUSUAL DAY
by Sydra Mallery ; illustrated by E.B. Goodale

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)