An affirming story that highlights the impact secondary caregivers can make in children’s lives.
An uncle’s small but powerful actions make a boy feel celebrated and secure.
At the store, Toby picks out gifts for his dad and his uncle. Though Toby can’t wait to give out his presents, Dad barely looks up from his phone (“Oh, more socks”). Toby’s downcast (“He’s right…he has enough socks”), but Ma comforts him (“He’s not right”)—and her words linger with him: “If a person ain’t right, they won’t make you feel right.” This emphasis on intuition and feeling encourages Toby to give the other gift to his uncle, someone who always makes him feel good. His uncle, who owns El Tio Auto Repair, zooms Toby over to his personalized chair, giving him undivided, excited attention. Throughout, Martinez’s illustrations mirror the boy’s emotions: static when something “doesn’t feel right,” exuberant and full of motion when he soars. Maldonado’s story could be a useful teaching tool for children to reinforce trusting your intuition. Many will identify with Toby’s sadness as he notices broken glass and a playground under construction in his rundown neighborhood or his disappointment as Dad dismisses him. More directly, Maldonado shows adult readers ways to convey security and love to the children in their lives. He models specific strategies for making youngsters feel seen and valued. Toby and his family are brown-skinned; hints in the text suggest Latine heritage.
An affirming story that highlights the impact secondary caregivers can make in children’s lives. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2026
ISBN: 9780593624968
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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