Affirming and communal in the most enduring of ways.
Daddy’s death leaves a hole in Lil’ Kev’s life, but a day out with his father’s closest friends helps him fill it.
Lil’ Kev’s the only boy in the house now, and though his loving family attempts to connect with him, things “aren’t the same.” His sisters try playing video games and racing cars with him; Momma shoots hoops with him. But the bond he shared with Daddy is irreplaceable. So he calls in the Uncles. Daddy’s four lifelong friends scoop Lil’ Kev up for a day filled with favorite meals, booming music, fresh kicks, basketball, and stories about the man they all miss. Laughter and tears surface without restraint throughout the day, and by the end, Lil’ Kev finds connection with the parts of his dad that live within the Uncles, within his family, and within himself. Williams has crafted a deceptively simple story that holds enormous emotional weight, grounding grief and healing in everyday acts of care and memory. The Uncles don’t attempt to replace Daddy or suppress Lil’ Kev’s sadness; instead, they give the boy the love and space he needs. Williams’ text offers an emotionally open, physically affectionate, and community-centered Black masculinity with the Uncles’ dap-ups, teasing, embraces, and attentive listening. Evans’ digitally rendered illustrations radiate warmth and movement, emphasizing physical closeness through expressive gestures, relaxed postures, and soft lighting that capture the overlap of longing and joy.
Affirming and communal in the most enduring of ways. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2026
ISBN: 9781665965958
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Denene Millner Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2026
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
Sweet.
A caregiving bear shares with its cub how love has defined their relationship from the first moment and through the years as the cub has grown.
With rhymes and a steady rhythm that are less singsong-y than similar books, Stansbie seems to have hit a sweet spot for this offering on the I-love-you-always shelf. Readers follow the adult and child as they share special moments together—a sunset, a splash in a pond, climbing a tree, a snuggle—and the adult tells the child that the love it feels has only grown. Stansbie also takes care not to put promises in the adult bear’s mouth that can’t be delivered, acknowledging that physical proximity is not always possible: “Wherever you are, / even when we’re apart… // I’ll love you forever / with all of my heart.” The large trim size helps the sweet illustrations shine; their emphasis is on the close relationship between parent and child. Shaped peekaboo windows offer glimpses of preceding and succeeding pages, images and text carefully placed to work whatever the context. While the die cuts on the interior pages will not hold up to rough handling, they do add whimsy and delight to the book as a whole: “And now that you’re bigger, / you make my heart sing. / My / beautiful / wonderful / magical / thing.” Those last three adjectives are positioned in leaf-shaped cutouts, the turn of the page revealing the roly-poly cub in a pile of leaves, three formed by the die-cuts. Opposite, three vignettes show the cub appreciating the “beautiful,” the “wonderful,” and the “magical.”
Sweet. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68412-910-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Silver Dolphin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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