A charming and important entry encouraging the joyous celebration of cultural heritage.
When a young Muslim boy receives a well-loved teddy bear for Eid, he’s encouraged to discover for himself what its name is.
Abdullah carefully unwraps his parents’ gift and discovers a plush bear softened by years of love—it’s his father’s childhood toy. Ecstatic, he asks what its name is. “Why don’t you guess?” says Abba. “You’ll know in your heart when you’ve found the right one.” Over the next week, Abdullah takes his toy everywhere, trying on many different names. He considers his classmates’ names, like Katie or Anna, and old names he sees on museum exhibits, such as Archibald, but none seem to fit. Still, Abdullah’s sure that the bear has a name. After hearing a bedtime story about Abba’s Pakistani grandfather, he drifts off to sleep while looking at a family picture. Suddenly, it hits him. Maybe his bear has a name like his! Inspired by Hanif’s experiences growing up with a lack of Pakistani Muslim representation in literature, as well as her time spent working with South Asian children in Glasgow, this tale emphasizes the importance of recognizing one’s cultures and traditions through the power of names. Benmouyal’s blend of hand-drawn textures with a digital finish, dominated by hues of blue, green, gold, and red, convey Abdullah’s love for his new toy with expressive facial features and gestures. A short glossary of unfamiliar words supports comprehension without disrupting the flow of the story.
A charming and important entry encouraging the joyous celebration of cultural heritage. (the story behind the book) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 10, 2026
ISBN: 9781782509585
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Floris
Review Posted Online: Nov. 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2025
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
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Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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