This story has its big heart in the right place, but it’s missing a beat.
A new superhero family story from Graham.
Fans of Graham’s earlier title Max (2000), about a young superhero and his parents, will be delighted to meet the newest addition to their family, a redheaded girl named Maxine. Max is happy to “meet” his little sister via a sonogram image, which shows her already wearing her mask in utero in the cartoon-style watercolor-and-ink illustrations. This funny foray into fantasy risks undermining the internal logic of the story, however, when Maxine grows up and eschews the superhero garb her family gifts her. Shedding her cape and choosing jeans instead of tights and boots seems liberating in the context of the story as Maxine resists her family’s admonitions that “superheroes do NOT wear jeans”; removing the mask that ostensibly grew as part of her body during gestation feels somehow different. Ideally, readers will see this act as one of self-affirmation that never undermines Maxine’s status as a superhero child (she can still fly without her cape), but the storytelling seems a bit underdeveloped in its exploration of how Maxine asserts her distinct identity. Graham’s customary humor is amply present in illustrative details such as the masked family dog, the lightning-bolt–shaped house, and a family of fairies glimpsed beneath the curtain of a dressing room as Maxine tries on jeans. All main characters present as White.
This story has its big heart in the right place, but it’s missing a beat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Dec. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1770-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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BOOK REVIEW
Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees.
After Duncan finds his crayons gone—yet again—letters arrive, detailing their adventures in friendship.
Eleven crayons send missives from their chosen spots throughout Duncan’s home (and one from his classroom). Red enjoys the thrill of extinguishing “pretend fires” with Duncan’s toy firetruck. White, so often dismissed as invisible, finds a new calling subbing in for the missing queen on the black-and-white chessboard. “Now everyone ALWAYS SEES ME!…(Well, half the time!)” Pink’s living the dream as a pastry chef helming the Breezy Bake Oven, “baking everything from little cupcakes…to…OTHER little cupcakes!” Teal, who’s hitched a ride to school in Duncan’s backpack, meets the crayons in the boy’s desk and writes, “Guess what? I HAVE A TWIN! How come you never told me?” Duncan wants to see his crayons and “meet their new friends.” A culminating dinner party assembles the crayons and their many guests: a table tennis ball, dog biscuits, a well-loved teddy bear, and more. The premise—personified crayons, away and back again—is well-trammeled territory by now, after over a dozen books and spinoffs, and Jeffers once more delivers his signature cartooning and hand-lettering. Though the pages lack the laugh-out-loud sight gags and side-splittingly funny asides of previous outings, readers—especially fans of the crayons’ previous outings—will enjoy checking in on their pals.
Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9780593622360
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
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