Like a peacock, this tale’s shining qualities don’t necessarily get the story off the ground.
A peacock learns to love his unusual appearance with a little help from his friends—and a well-timed thunderstorm.
Mo and his close-knit crew of fledgling peacocks do everything together. They have many things in common except for their coats: His friends sport brown and yellow feathers, and Mo’s down is stark white. As the peachicks grow up together, Mo’s snowy mantle remains while his friends’ plumage turns “bright, bold, beautiful colors.” Whenever this fact causes Mo to “feel different,” his pals chime in with reassurances. “You’re still a peacock!” they say, and, “Birds of a feather groom together!” These affirmations help at first, but Mo’s all-too-familiar feelings of loneliness intensify when the Annual Dance in the Rain arrives. Mo sits on the sidelines, too glum to dance in the year’s first rain with his friends. Soon, the night gives way to stormier conditions, thwarting the revelers with low visibility. Lightning flashes, and Mo realizes his pearly plumage is aglow; if he joins the festivities, he can light the way and save the party. Swooping in, “Mo saw what he’d had all along—bright, bold, beautiful feathers.” Debut author Singh gives fresh wings to the dare-to-be-different narrative by normalizing Mo’s tougher feelings, even with the presence of supportive friends. Still, an overlong story plus a couple unhelpful responses from Mo’s mates (“Don’t think about it!”; “Colors don’t make the bird!”) dampen the story. Backmatter includes a note from the author about her heritage as well as peacock facts. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-16-inch double-page spreads viewed at 19.7% of actual size.)
Like a peacock, this tale’s shining qualities don’t necessarily get the story off the ground. (Picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: March 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-11644-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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
Lively fun with animal friends.
Has Plum’s pep deserted him?
Several animals from the Athensville Zoo are on their way to visit an elementary school. Overconfident Itch the ningbing (an Australian marsupial), unaware that zookeeper Lizzie will be doing all the talking, looks forward to “lecturing eager young minds.” Plum, the usually chipper peacock, on the other hand, is anxious—maybe the schoolchildren won’t like him or he’ll get lost. So when they arrive at the school to find the students have been sent home due to a blizzard, Plum is relieved. The animals are left in a school gym for the night until three self-important class mice free them. Itch heads for the library to meet the learned turtle, but Plum reluctantly explores with his friends. When his anxiety peaks, they reassure him, and when the mice reject Meg, another peacock, as “borrrring” and uncool, they buoy her as well before everyone comes together to save Itch, who finds himself outside and stranded in a snowdrift. Unlike Leave It to Plum (2022), this is not a mystery, and the relationship focus shifts from Lizzie to the rodents, but the pace is brisk, and sequel seekers will be pleased to revisit familiar characters (if dismayed that Itch’s longing for knowledge leads to his downfall). In Phelan’s engaging grayscale pen-and-wash illustrations, Lizzie has short curly hair; text and art cue her as Latine.
Lively fun with animal friends. (how to draw Plum) (Chapter book. 7-10)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-307920-5
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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