A whimsical reminder that play is more fun when there’s room for everyone.
An all-are-welcome attitude brings sunshine to a drizzly day at the park.
Zora is at the park, “soaring high on her favorite swing…when it begins to rain.” As other children take cover, Zora discovers a pink polka-dotted umbrella beneath a bench. Though it’s barely wide enough to shelter her, a tan-skinned youngster asks, “Is there room for one more?” “Sure!” Zora chirps as the umbrella grows to cover the newcomer. More youngsters show up. “Can we come under too?” “Come on in!” Zora replies, and the canopy expands to protect an array of gap-toothed kids, diverse in skin tone. When a gust carries it away, the children collaboratively make a game of finding it. Once the umbrella is retrieved, Zora, a brown-skinned girl with puff pigtails and turquoise glasses, stashes it away to be found by another child on another rainy day. Walker’s watercolor and digital art captures the cheerful adventure with loose washes of bright colors unconstrained by thin-lined black outlines. With its minimal text and joyful palette, plus the absence of adults, this child-centered story particularly suits preschool community-building efforts. Though it treads familiar territory, it’s sweetly executed and certain to engage. Read with Amy June Bates and Juniper Bates’ similarly premised The Big Umbrella (2018) or Emily Ann Davidson and Momoko Abe’s The Blue Umbrella (2023) for a magical rainy-day trifecta.
A whimsical reminder that play is more fun when there’s room for everyone. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 9, 2026
ISBN: 9781665984157
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Denene Millner Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
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)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
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