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TURKEY GOES TO SCHOOL

Name: TURKEY GOES TO SCHOOL
Author: Wendi Silvano
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2364-1

From the Turkey Trouble series , Vol. 5

by Wendi Silvano ; illustrated by Lee Harper ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 13, 2021

A cute twist on both the farm and school themes.

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Turkey is excited and ready for the first day of school—but will they let the farm animals in?

The farm children, Max and Millie, both White, are “superexcited” for the first day of school. The farm animals have heard all about it, and they are excited too—especially Turkey, who drills the other animals on their school skills as the big day approaches. But when the school bus arrives, the animals are told to stay at the farm. They hitch a ride in a pickup and spend the whole day devising different plans to get inside the school building. Turkey tries disguising himself as a backpack, a book, a cafeteria worker, and even a soccer ball, but he is always discovered and sent out. Finally, the animals learn how to use the first-week-of-school theme, “Farm Days,” to their advantage. The text is full of silly puns and animal sounds that liven up the reading. The animals’ outsider perspective on the classroom full of children having an exciting day of learning and fun is an entertaining thought experiment for young children, though animal lovers may balk at the exclusion of the hopeful barn dwellers. The watercolor-and-pencil illustrations feature quirky characters with wide eyes and expressive features and a relatively diverse class of children. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A cute twist on both the farm and school themes. (Picture book. 3-8)

Pub Date: July 13, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-5420-2364-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Two Lions

Review Posted Online: May 18, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
HOW THE FOREST FEELS
by Wendi Silvano ; illustrated by Mirka Hokkanen

- BOOK REVIEW
TURKEY'S SANDTASTIC BEACH DAY
by Wendi Silvano ; illustrated by Lee Harper

- BOOK REVIEW
TURKEY'S VALENTINE SURPRISE
by Wendi Silvano ; illustrated by Lee Harper

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BETTER THAN A TOUCHDOWN

by Jalen Hurts ; illustrated by Nneka Myers ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2026

Earnest and well meaning but not quite a touchdown.

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In Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Hurts’ motivational picture book, a youngster rebounds from disappointment.

As Jalen heads off on his first day of school, he daydreams about joining the football team, but his friend Trey soon breaks the bad news. The garden club needed more space for vegetables, so the football field was used for planting. There will be no football this year. Jalen is despondent, but his teachers Mrs. Lee and Mr. Barry and bodega owner Mr. Muhammad offer guidance that spurs him and his friends into positive action. They work to flip a nearby empty lot into a football field, with Jalen echoing his mentors’ adages. Once the field is complete, Jalen feels a swell of pride in his and his friends’ work. While the idea of kids working together to effect change is a laudable one, the bland, wordy storytelling won’t inspire young people or hold their attention. Tired, cliched inspirational comments peppered throughout often slow down the narrative, and many adult readers will find the premise—a school dropping a high-interest sports program in favor of a community garden—wildly unrealistic. Though the illustrations are colorful, with a Disney Junior charm, strange stylistic choices, such as signs with odd combinations of scribbles instead of letters, give them an unpolished look. Like Hurts, Jalen is Black; his community is diverse.

Earnest and well meaning but not quite a touchdown. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: March 10, 2026

ISBN: 9798217040308

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Flamingo Books

Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

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BEST BUNNY BROTHER EVER

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Tim Bowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 6, 2026

A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note.

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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)