A touching true-life tale with much wisdom for people who face similar situations.
Best friends must learn to enjoy life apart until they can be reunited.
Bonded stork pair Klepetan and Malena do everything together, Klepetan inspecting the world around him, and Malena enthusiastically jumping in, each taking turns to tell jokes and a bedtime story. But then Malena is injured. A “kind featherheaded man” cares for her, building the pair a nest on his roof and a ramp so Malena can access it. But when fall—and migration time—arrives, the pair decide that “Being apart will be a new part of our together.” They exchange feathers (the title is their catchphrase), and the man helps them through their final awful day: “Friendship survives all kinds of goodbyes.” Slowly, the two learn how to be apart and eventually start sending jokes and stories to the clouds and stars as they’d promised. The author draws out the tension in the most delicious way, readers rushing to the end so that the birds can be reunited, and likely there will be no dry eyes in the house when the duo are finally once again nestled next to one another, feathers together. The digital illustrations give marvelous personality to each stork, their every emotion evident and so relatable for readers. The man is light-skinned; the village he lives in is a diverse one. The author’s note gives more info about the real-life birds who inspired the story and about other influences: families separated by immigration, military deployments, and the pandemic. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A touching true-life tale with much wisdom for people who face similar situations. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4197-5458-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
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
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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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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