Eagle-eyed junior entomologists will go buggy for this one.
Readers are tasked with locating Mama stick bug’s six children.
The book opens with a spread depicting Mama on a branch; a page turn reveals her offspring, numbered one through six. They’re already a bit hard to distinguish, between camouflaging leaves and branches and an assortment of tiny toys, including a pinwheel, crayons, and a scooter. “Mama’s going to teach them how to hide so six little sticks stay safe outside.” By the next page, five of the stick bugs are riding Mama’s back, but one is already missing. Mama keeps losing her children, but observant viewers will find them, although it may take some time to spot the little critters blending into the woods. Other insects will become visible as children investigate the illustrator’s delicate, playful multimedia images. This is a book to peer at closely and won’t make for an effective group read-aloud. While the rhyming text is appropriate for very young listeners, the pictures are meant for kids who can really concentrate. Sometimes, only the bugs’ heads are visible, and when “friends and cousins” come to join the game of hide-and-seek, only the most able bug detectives will track them all down. Still, those up for the task will have a field day. Facts about the bugs and a final challenge to search for other bugs will send kids back to the book and out into nature.
Eagle-eyed junior entomologists will go buggy for this one. (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781778401237
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Greystone Kids
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
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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