A lofty concept and radiant illustrations will leave readers on cloud nine.
A lightly personified series of skies puts out its cloudy laundry to dry while two human neighbors bond over the same task.
Permeated with dense imagery and atmospheric art, Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Kooser’s tale establishes that the skies have “hung out their freshly washed clouds” so that they might “smell like air.” But soon the skies have “hurriedly wadded up [the] socks, T-shirts and underpants of cirrocumulus” into a “basket woven of sunbeams” to outrun the seventh sky, a “moth-eaten, dirty gray woolen blanket of stratus.” A thunderstorm begins, gloriously unfurling on full-bleed double-page spreads. Kooser’s picturesque poetry vividly shapes his living sky metaphors, whether they be billowing descriptions of “big muscly arms tattooed all over with all kinds of birds” or ominous portrayals of cumulonimbus clouds “squeezing the light out.” Under those same dynamic skies, a pair of brown-skinned children hang laundry atop a pair of adjacent brick buildings. Their burgeoning friendship, told entirely visually through tentative waves and the clothes-pinned notes they exchange, is as enchanting as the breathtaking post-storm rainbow connecting them. Myers’ skyscapes of brilliantly colored oils on wood are both spectacular and scientifically accurate. His clever use of reflections, the way he artfully plays with the book’s gutter, and the almost tactile paint striations create spreads that are, well, heavenly.
A lofty concept and radiant illustrations will leave readers on cloud nine. (Picture book. 4-10)Pub Date: July 8, 2025
ISBN: 9781536229004
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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