An endearing ode to big siblinghood.
A buffalo is disconcerted when his daily routine is disrupted by a newborn.
Kalb begins with the playful rhymes and rhythms she employed in Buffalo Fluffalo (2024). Fluffalo, having learned a lesson in cooperation in his earlier outing, happily cavorts with Ram, Crow, and Prairie Dog before enjoying some thoughtful alone time and then settling down to sleep at dusk. A loud wailing sound wakes him at dawn and continues into daybreak. “‘What could that be?’ huffed tired old Fluffalo. / ‘I’ve said it before—I’ve had enuffalo!’” When he discovers that the sound is coming from a tiny buffalo, he becomes both irate and alarmed. Fortunately, his friends show up and assure him that the little one just needs some time to learn and grow. Fluffalo calms down and admits that the baby is a bit cute—something readers will have already realized, thanks to Kraan’s sweetly imaginative art. In the ensuing pages, Fluffalo mentors the loving Puffalo, including the baby in his daily activities and fielding (some of) Puff’s many questions. Readers with younger siblings will appreciate the subtle acknowledgment that Fluffalo’s new role can be taxing, but overall, the tale affirms the joy of mentoring, while the colorful, stylized art perfectly complements the upbeat verse. It’s easy to imagine an older child reading this story to a younger one at bedtime.
An endearing ode to big siblinghood. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9780593810309
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House Studio
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.
All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.
Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
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
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