A harmonious tribute to the power of music—and friendship.
A young mermaid makes an exciting musical discovery.
Joy finds a tambourine on an ocean reef. Unsure what it is, she dubs it a “jingle-jangle” because of the pleasing sounds it produces. Beating the jingle-jangle, she invites her animal friends to listen. They all enjoy her music, but in her exuberance, the tambourine’s bells fall off. “I’ll never find a sound like that again,” the tearful Joy laments. Her pals take turns trying to cheer her up. Tentacles waving, Octopus encourages Joy to “whoosh” and “swoosh” her arms, Whale urges her to sing along, Seahorse blows his nose, producing a “symphony of bubbles,” and Crab makes “a clacking sound that [gets] the twin rays twirling and whirling.” Finally, a swarm of eels buzz by, leading Joy to another delightful surprise. But the true gift is the music they’ve made along the way. Moises’ energizing, jewel-toned illustrations are the epitome of sweetness. The sea creatures are softly rounded, with fun details that further anthropomorphize them: eyelashes on Whale, a green pompadour-esque hairdo on Octopus, a tiny mustache on Crab. Wide-eyed, expressive Joy is brown-skinned with Afro-textured hair. Readers will relish the songlike onomatopoeia on almost every page, and careful youngsters will notice the cleverly placed breadcrumbs portending the jingle-jangle’s fate.
A harmonious tribute to the power of music—and friendship. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780063333864
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Versify/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.
Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.
Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781464268076
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2026
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