This warmhearted animal tale is a good choice for settings where longer stories for newly independent readers are needed.
Apple-grower Timo hates parties, but to help a friend he overcomes his timidity and hosts an apple festival.
Timo’s friend Hedgewick, an aspiring chef, wants to impress the influential travel writer/food critic who is coming to Toadstool Corners, so he enlists the rabbit’s reluctant help. The seven chapters introduce more anthropomorphic animal characters who help Timo develop the confidence he needs to make the event a success. Meanwhile, in an increasingly messy kitchen, Hedgewick is cooking up dozens of apple recipes. But while daydreaming about fame, Hedgewick burns the main course (apple-nut–stuffed squash). A simple apple-nut spinach salad saves the day. Full-color illustrations adorn almost every spread, breaking up the rather wordy text. Children making the transition from the controlled vocabulary of beginning readers to actual chapter books will find this a challenge, but the large, generously leaded type and generous use of white space make it more accessible. Hedgewick’s ambition to be the next top chef may be a stretch for young readers, but many will relate to Timo’s very human worries about his party skills. A recipe for apple banana cake appears on the final page.
This warmhearted animal tale is a good choice for settings where longer stories for newly independent readers are needed. (Early reader. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-7727-8008-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Pajama Press
Review Posted Online: July 2, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note.
Little Honey Bunny Funnybunny loves baseball almost as much as she loves her big brother P.J.—though it’s a close-run thing.
Readers familiar with the pranks P.J. plays on his younger sibling in older episodes of the series (most illustrated by Roger Bollen) will be amused—and perhaps a little confused—to see him in the role of perfect big brother after meeting his swaddled little sister for the first time in mama’s lap. But here, along with being a constant companion and “always happy to see her,” he cements his heroic status in her eyes by hitting a home run for his baseball team and then patiently teaching her how to play T-ball. After carefully coaching her and leading her through warm-up exercises, he even sits in the stands, loudly cheering her on as she scores the winning run in her own very first game. “‘You are the best brother a bunny could ever have!’” she burbles. This tale’s a tad blander compared with others centered on P.J. and his sister, but it’s undeniably cheery, with text well structured for burgeoning readers. The all-smiles animal cast in Bowers’ cartoon art features a large and diversely hued family of bunnies sporting immense floppy ears as well as a multispecies crowd of furry onlookers equally varied of color, with one spectator in a wheelchair.
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note. (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9798217032464
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
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