Fans of animal tales will gobble up this tale of a dog who loves his girl and ends up saving the world.
In this holiday novel for middle graders, a dog’s quest to save his master’s daughter becomes a journey to save the world.
Season the dog’s world upends when ash clouds the atmosphere and threatens the life of Melissa, his beloved owner’s little girl. So, being the plucky pup he is, Season leaves his cozy home and braves the wild forest in an attempt to clear the skies, though he has no knowledge of how to do so. In other words, Pollard’s debut starts out by rewriting the standard quest story, this time with a dog in the starring role. In the opening scene (before one of several flashback), readers land smack in the middle of a confrontation between Season and a snarling pack of wolves. In smooth prose interwoven with the right amount of explication, the story follows Season through the forest as he befriends a kind but underappreciated mule, then faces danger, trickery and death. Explaining the meaning of his quest, Season says: “It is my purpose. Have you never felt like that? That there is a purpose for you, and that only you can fulfill it?” The plot features dangerous wildlife—snakes, bats, wolves, etc.—and harsh natural elements until Season faces his final confrontation, at which point the author introduces mystical forces disguised as humans and a perplexing resolution to the quest. Readers may feel blindsided by the revelation that his quest has been engineered by divine forces at war, but this sudden turn infuses the novel with new life, converting the story from a standard quest into a more fantasy-oriented trek. The fitting conclusion should leave readers of all ages satisfied. Any link to Christmas, a holiday mentioned several times in the story, is overwhelmed by the general, world-saving nature of Season’s journey. Although not mentioned in the book, Season hopefully has more quests in his future.
Fans of animal tales will gobble up this tale of a dog who loves his girl and ends up saving the world.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2012
ISBN: 978-1475940084
Page Count: 138
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: Jan. 15, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.
Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.
This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-93809-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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