A tall tale with lots of fun kidding around.
A far-fetched excuse for tardiness at school with a twist ending—and dinopirates.
The eponymous Our Kid is a young, anthropomorphic goat who can’t seem to get his act together. Despite his parents’ guidance, he’s late to school and has neither his homework nor his uniform. Sent to the corner by his teacher as punishment, Our Kid weaves a fantastic tall tale to explain his tardiness and unpreparedness for school, which involves a shortcut, a submarine, “dinopirates” (who steal his homework and pants), and a helpful elephant with a howdah on its back who finally brings him across crocodile-infested waters to school. Throughout, onomatopoeic neologisms pepper the text and provide a silly sensibility that enhances its telling. (“Why so glumbumtious, little goat?” the elephant asks.) His exasperated teacher doesn’t believe a word Our Kid says until green ET’s appear and tell Our Kid that they’ve found his pants and homework while on an expedition to capture a dinosaur for their museum. Chagrined, the teacher gives Our Kid a gold star on his homework and says “You can be as late as you like tomorrow.” Ross’ cartoon-style illustrations with their characteristic shaky ink line and painterly watercolors evoke humor that reinforces the absurdity of the tale.
A tall tale with lots of fun kidding around. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5124-8127-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Andersen Press USA
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
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
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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