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GOODBYE, SCHOOL

Name: GOODBYE, SCHOOL
Author: Tonya Lippert
ISBN: 978-1-4338-3029-7

by Tonya Lippert ; illustrated by Tracy Bishop ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2019

Perfect for children going through transitions and the adults who guide them.

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Today is Franny’s last day at her current school, and she is finding it hard to say goodbye.

Franny will miss her school like a dear old friend. On her last day, she reflects on the many happy memories she had here and all the things she will miss. “She played here, read here, learned here, and even used to nap here. She had friends here.” Franny engages all her senses in reminiscing. “She flew her fingers over [the wall’s] rough and smooth spots and felt its warmth.” She breathes deeply, and books, chalk, and graham crackers come to mind. As Franny remembers sitting under the trees with her best friend, surrounded by light, shadows, and four-leaf clovers, it comes to her—the perfect way to say goodbye. Lippert’s languid prose and tender child’s-eye point of view evoke the emotions of a young person’s struggle with transitions, especially changing schools. Bishop renders her multicultural characters (Franny appears East Asian) with wide-eyed expressions and in carefree activities that exemplify a child’s joy and exuberance. And every gentle, muted brush stroke echoes the author’s intentions, from the book’s initial melancholic mood until the heartening ending. Lippert, an expert in developmental psychology, provides excellent advice in the backmatter for helping children cope with change.

Perfect for children going through transitions and the adults who guide them. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: April 16, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-4338-3029-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Magination/American Psychological Association

Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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THE PUMPKIN THIEF

From the Leaf Thief series

by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 28, 2026

More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.

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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

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SUN THIEF
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SNOW THIEF
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BISON AND THE BUTTERFLY
by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nancy Leschnikoff

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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)