Inexpressible feelings find an invaluable mouthpiece in one rodent's lonely journey. Vital storytelling.
A rat, miserable thanks to her own internal storm, finds help in the midst of a real one.
Though Rat seems deeply unhappy these days, her friend Jackdaw can’t get her to say why. One day, with blustery weather on the horizon, Rat runs into the heart of the storm, dodging friends and hungry enemies alike. When she finally collides with Bear, she finds a compassionate ear. Bear encourages her to be “a voice in a storm” and to let out her growls and roars alongside the actual storm. Afterward, Rat confesses the despair she’s been carrying around inside and explains why she couldn’t tell the others. In the end, Bear wisely states that “asking for help takes a lot of courage. But letting someone help, well, it takes worlds of the stuff.” By the end, Rat is finally able to start telling Jackdaw what’s wrong. Though the book’s message may feel a bit advanced for the elementary school set, that doesn’t diminish the truth beating at its heart; children grappling with depression and other intense emotions will feel seen—and held. Mountford couples the heaviness of the story alongside lavender, green, and blue geometric digital art, filled with beauty and coupled with care. In the end, the book feels like an older sibling to Cori Doerrfeld’s similarly mindful The Rabbit Listened (2018).
Inexpressible feelings find an invaluable mouthpiece in one rodent's lonely journey. Vital storytelling. (Picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781536238884
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick Studio
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
Extraordinary introductory terror, beautiful to the eye and sure to delight younger horror enthusiasts.
What terrors lurk within your mouth? Jasper Rabbit knows.
“You have stumbled your way into the unknown.” The young bunny introduced in Reynolds and Brown’s Caldecott Honor–winning picture book, Creepy Carrots (2012), takes up Rod Serling’s mantle, and the fit is perfect. Mimicking an episode of The Twilight Zone, the book follows Charlie Marmot, an average kid with a penchant for the strange and unusual. He’s pleased when his tonsils become infected; maybe once they’re out he can take them to school for show and tell! That’s when bizarre things start to happen: Noises in the night. Slimy trails on his bedroom floor. And when Charlie goes in for his surgery, he’s told that the tonsils have disappeared from his throat; clearly something sinister is afoot. Those not yet ready for Goosebumps levels of horror will find this a welcome starter pack. Reynolds has perfected the tension he employed in his Creepy Tales! series, and partner in crime Brown imbues each illustration with both humor and a delicate undercurrent of dark foreshadowing. While the fleshy pink tonsils—the sole spot of color in this black-and-white world—aren’t outrageously gross, there’s something distinctly disgusting about them. And though the book stars cute, furry woodland creatures, the spooky surprise ending is 100% otherworldly—a marvelous moment of twisted logic.
Extraordinary introductory terror, beautiful to the eye and sure to delight younger horror enthusiasts. (Early chapter book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781665961080
Page Count: 88
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
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