A cutesy but conversation-starting narrative that takes anxiety seriously and offers practical solutions.
Ruby the penguin prepares for what she knows will be a nervous time at the talent show.
Ruby starts every day with a song: “I’m a pep pep peppy penguin.” But while she’s excited to sing at the upcoming Penguin Talent show, she confesses to her friend Pengwee, of author Nutley’s Pengwee’s Breath (2021), she’s not sure that her usual methods for calming her nervous heart, like dancing the Jiggly Wiggly, will work. Pengwee suggests she pretend she’s alone on stage, but Ruby isn’t sure that will be possible. She tries to follow her mother’s advice (sing from the heart), but it’s her pounding heart that seems to be the source of her anxiety. Pengwee helps Ruby talk about how her heart feels when she experiences different emotions: It “hip-hops when I’m happy, sinks when I’m sad, and wobbles when I worry.” Pengwee’s heart feels similarly, and they conclude that Ruby should look at Pengwee if she gets nervous. At the talent show, a combination of looking up at the sky and at her sympathetic friend helps her sing. Rusu’s loose, expressive digital paintings in cool tones show glossy-eyed, cute penguins wearing scarves and hats and depict joyful song as a blue, yellow, and purple swirling cloud. The penguins’ expressions alternate between blissful calm and shuddering anxiety. While some of the child-like lingo (dancing the Jiggly Wiggly) may put off older readers, younger kids navigating anxiety may benefit from the heart-and-breath-focused mindfulness of physicality and options for navigating high-stress situations.
A cutesy but conversation-starting narrative that takes anxiety seriously and offers practical solutions.Pub Date: Dec. 20, 2023
ISBN: 9781737747932
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Purple Green Press LLC
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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