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TERRY'S MANY HATS

Name: TERRY'S MANY HATS
Author: Terry Crews
ISBN: 9780316499996

by Terry Crews with Laura Baker ; illustrated by Tanisha Cherislin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 24, 2026

Crews wore his bestselling author hat when he penned this charmer.

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Actor and former NFL player Crews’ debut picture book tells the story of “a boy with BIG dreams…and a whole lot of hats.”

Terry scores big on the football field, but he’s also a gifted painter, singer, and more—conveyed through a montage of images that see him donning different chapeaux, from an artist’s beret to a chef’s hat. The week before the big game, however, Coach asks everyone to focus their energies on the gridiron, so Terry skips out on a new art project and talent show rehearsals and instead grabs his helmet to go full Football Terry. Though he leads his team to victory, he feels pigeonholed by others’ expectations (“Everyone wants me to be Football Terry or Artist Terry or Performer Terry”). Happily, his mother’s words—“Some days or weeks you may wear one hat more often, but that doesn’t mean the others are gone”—encourage the young boy to make time for his many passions. A feather in the cap of the multitalented Crews, this sensitively written book delivers an empowering message about staying true to oneself, conveyed at a time when children are too often scheduled up to their eyeballs. His use of caps as a metaphor makes a somewhat sophisticated concept feel concrete to a young audience. Cherislin’s soft-focus illustrations, reminiscent of Vanessa Brantley-Newton’s artwork, depict a determined Black child whose zest for life is palpable.

Crews wore his bestselling author hat when he penned this charmer. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026

ISBN: 9780316499996

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

- BOOK REVIEW
TERRY'S CREW
by Terry Crews ; illustrated by Cory Thomas

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THE MOST MAGNIFICENT THING

by Ashley Spires ; illustrated by Ashley Spires ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2014

Spires’ understanding of the fragility and power of the artistic impulse mixes with expert pacing and subtle...

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Making things is difficult work. Readers will recognize the stages of this young heroine’s experience as she struggles to realize her vision.

First comes anticipation. The artist/engineer is spotted jauntily pulling a wagonload of junkyard treasures. Accompanied by her trusty canine companion, she begins drawing plans and building an assemblage. The narration has a breezy tone: “[S]he makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!” The colorful caricatures and creations contrast with the digital black outlines on a white background that depict an urban neighborhood. Intermittent blue-gray panels break up the white expanses on selected pages showing sequential actions. When the first piece doesn’t turn out as desired, the protagonist tries again, hoping to achieve magnificence. A model of persistence, she tries many adjustments; the vocabulary alone offers constructive behaviors: she “tinkers,” “wrenches,” “fiddles,” “examines,” “stares” and “tweaks.” Such hard work, however, combines with disappointing results, eventually leading to frustration, anger and injury. Explosive emotions are followed by defeat, portrayed with a small font and scaled-down figures. When the dog, whose expressions have humorously mirrored his owner’s through each phase, retrieves his leash, the resulting stroll serves them well. A fresh perspective brings renewed enthusiasm and—spoiler alert—a most magnificent scooter sidecar for a loyal assistant.

Spires’ understanding of the fragility and power of the artistic impulse mixes with expert pacing and subtle characterization for maximum delight. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: April 1, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-55453-704-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Kids Can

Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
BYE BYE, BUTTERFLY
developed by Ashley Spires ; adapted by Naseem Hrab ; illustrated by Mike Shiell

- BOOK REVIEW
NO MOUSIE LEFT BEHIND
developed by Ashley Spires ; adapted by Naseem Hrab ; illustrated by Mike Shiell

- BOOK REVIEW
THE MOST MAGNIFICENT MAKER'S A TO Z
by Ashley Spires ; illustrated by Ashley Spires

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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)