A worthy tale in which the seemingly ordinary becomes extraordinary.
In a class of superheroes, the pressure to shine runs high.
On Super Goat Girl’s first day of school, her teacher Miss Damsel (a brown-skinned woman who is indeed often in distress) introduces her to the class. Though the students include an alien and a robot, they quickly decide that Super Goat Girl doesn’t fit in. Brown-skinned Laserbeam Lass can write her name in the air with her eyes, pale-skinned Noodle Boy can stretch his neck and appendages “in every direction,” and Robo Kid’s mathematical prowess can’t be beat. “WHAT CAN YOU DO?” Super Goat Girl’s classmates ask. None of this. But when evil aliens lasso Miss Damsel, Goat Girl’s teeth chomp through a rope made from impossibilium (the strongest substance on the extraterrestrials’ planet), rescuing the teacher when the other students can’t. Is chewing a superpower, her classmates wonder? Using other talents such as her intense bleat, Goat Girl repeatedly saves her teacher, who always assures the kid that the next school activity will be better than the current one, though she never chastises the other students for ostracizing Goat Girl. Only teamwork, in the end, convinces the classmates of Super Goat Girl’s value. Divided into graphic novel–esque panels, Adeola’s zany cartoon illustrations, with their cheerfully discordant color scheme, give distinct personalities to these unusual characters and offer an empathetic view of the shy protagonist, whose confidence grows as she helps.
A worthy tale in which the seemingly ordinary becomes extraordinary. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 15, 2025
ISBN: 9780525517764
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: yesterday
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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