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SHIBU'S TAIL

Name: SHIBU'S TAIL
Author: Tess Thomas
ISBN: 9781646145737

by Tess Thomas ; illustrated by Kamwei Fong ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 2, 2025

A winning blend of crisp design, child-appealing illustrations, and positive messaging about self-expression.

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After attempts to downplay his feelings make him miserable, a cat learns that freely expressing them is key to his well-being.

Bristling when he’s angry, shielding him when he’s afraid, and offering “hug after hug” when he’s happy, Shibu’s tail is a reliable indicator of his mood. After noticing that his big feelings attract undue attention from the other cats, he decides to stifle them. Shibu represses his joy over the milk delivery, his rage over a broken toy, and his fear during a lightning storm. These pent-up emotions take their toll: “Shibu started to feel like he was going to explode! And then, suddenly…He did.” Fong renders Shibu and his voluminous tail via a multitude of tiny black ink hatches, which increase in volume and intricacy. The illustrator depicts the veritable explosion of Shibu’s tail as a stormy cluster of cresting waves that leave the feline dripping wet. Understanding that sharing “what’s on his mind and in his heart” allows him to feel his best, Shibu begins to help his cat friends communicate their own sentiments. As Shibu’s tail offers a thumbs-up, Fong playfully surrounds him with equally demonstrative felines—and tails. Thomas’ cogent text and her focus on emotional intelligence will resonate with caregivers, while Fong’s quietly comic pictures will tickle everyone.

A winning blend of crisp design, child-appealing illustrations, and positive messaging about self-expression. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025

ISBN: 9781646145737

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Levine Querido

Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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THE COOL BEAN MAKES A SPLASH

From the I Can Read! series

by Jory John ; illustrated by Pete Oswald ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 26, 2024

Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind.

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The cool beans again step up to do a timorous fellow legume a fava…this time at the pool.

Will a rash decision to tackle the multistory super-slide lead to another embarrassing watery fail for our shy protagonist? Nope, for up the stairs right behind comes a trio of cool beans, each a different type and color, all clad in nothing but dark shades. They make an offer: “It’s not as scary if you go with friends!” As the knobby nerd explains once the thrilling ride down is done, “They all realized that I just needed some encouragement and support.” Just to make sure that both cool and uncool readers get the message, the narrator lets us know that “there are plenty of kind folks who have my back. They’re always there when I need them.” The beany bonhomie doesn’t end at the bottom of the slide, with all gliding down to the shallow end of the pool (“3 INCHES. NO DIVING”) for a splashy finale. This latest early reader starring characters from John and Oswald’s immensely popular Food Group series will be a hit with fans. Fun accessories, such as a bean who rocks pink cat-eye frames, add some pizzazz to the chromatically and somatotypically varied cast.

Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind. (Easy reader. 5-7)