Friends are literally what you make of them in this highly amusing jaunt into the unknown.
Parental ingenuity saves the day once more.
The young elephant who narrates this story is thrilled: “We are going camping. I’ve never been before. I. CAN’T. WAIT.” The little pachyderm’s parent suggests bringing a stuffed toy along, but our hero is a worldly 5-year-old who doesn’t need a comfort object! The caregiver repeatedly asks if this is a wise choice, but the youngster blows off any concerns. At first, all goes well, and camping is a wonderful adventure, but that night things take a turn. It’s dark, the sleeping bag is sweaty, the ground is hard, and the little one cracks. The young elephant’s “WHY DIDN’T YOU MAKE ME BRING MY STUFFIES?” will feel uncomfortably familiar to many adult readers. Desperate, the grown-up presents a pair of partially balled-up socks and dubs the creation “Sockflea.” Initially skeptical, the youngster falls hard for the makeshift stuffie’s charms, and the trip is a rousing success. The book even sticks the landing with an ending in which the young one realizes with horror that the adult is now casually wearing Sockflea around the house. Droll humor abounds in Dockrill’s narration, which perfectly captures a youngster’s mentality, pairing beautifully with Byrne’s thoroughly enticing digital art. Meanwhile, emotions roll off both the little elephant and the put-upon (and fairly anxious) grown-up, with even Sockflea sporting a delightfully benign smile.
Friends are literally what you make of them in this highly amusing jaunt into the unknown. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 21, 2026
ISBN: 9781536245103
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
Sadly, the storytelling runs aground.
A little red sleigh has big Christmas dreams.
Although the detailed, full-color art doesn’t anthropomorphize the protagonist (which readers will likely identify as a sled and not a sleigh), a close third-person text affords the object thoughts and feelings while assigning feminine pronouns. “She longed to become Santa’s big red sleigh,” reads an early line establishing the sleigh’s motivation to leave her Christmas-shop home for the North Pole. Other toys discourage her, but she perseveres despite creeping self-doubt. A train and truck help the sleigh along, and when she wishes she were big, fast, and powerful like them, they offer encouragement and counsel patience. When a storm descends after the sleigh strikes out on her own, an unnamed girl playing in the snow brings her to a group of children who all take turns riding the sleigh down a hill. When the girl brings her home, the sleigh is crestfallen she didn’t reach the North Pole. A convoluted happily-ever-after ending shows a note from Santa that thanks the sleigh for giving children joy and invites her to the North Pole next year. “At last she understood what she was meant to do. She would build her life up spreading joy, one child at a time.” Will she leave the girl’s house to be gifted to other children? Will she stay and somehow also reach ever more children? Readers will be left wondering. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 31.8% of actual size.)
Sadly, the storytelling runs aground. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-72822-355-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
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