An enchanting debut that captures the magic of nighttime backyard music.
The sounds of night lull young listeners to sleep in this vibrant debut illustrated children’s book from author/illustrator Weiss.
Evening approaches, and children put away their toys and get ready for bed. As they prepare for sleep, they see lights through their window—not just the moon and stars, “but sparkles of light, / glowing golden / and bright, / as fireflies flicker / and twirl in the night!” These aren’t the only nocturnal visitors: The poem’s narrator also describes luna moths, frogs, songbirds at night, crickets, and other humming insects. After reading storybooks and getting tucked into bed, the kids listen to creature sounds—a lullaby that ushers them off to sleep. An author’s note describes this book as having started as an art project, and Weiss’ acrylic-on-canvas paintings are absolutely an eye-catching draw. Her stylized, full-color images give even realistic settings a magical, whimsical feel, whether they feature curvy houses with conical roofs, a tricycle that looks meant for fairies to ride, or an hourglass-shaped cat with a spiral tail looking out a nighttime window. Weiss makes great use of the musical concept, putting fireflies directly onto a musical staff on the front and end pages. In one starry two-page spread, musical notes float in the night sky, forming treble and bass clef symbols in a wispy mist. On the final page, notes dance across the grass and river, while trees seem to sway rhythmically in the background. The bold, bright colors depicted in the beginning pages’ sunset are soon replaced by pages dominated with blues and purples, but they never feel dreary; while the deeper hues offer a sleepy feel, it’s too dreamlike to ever be dull. The poetry flows beautifully, as well, its scansion as steady and calming as the lullaby it mimics. The soothing tempo seems perfectly designed for lap readers listening as an adult rocks them to the beat of the poem’s music. Some of the more challenging vocabulary words (nocturnal, symphony) are defined for independent readers in a short glossary.
An enchanting debut that captures the magic of nighttime backyard music.Pub Date: March 19, 2024
ISBN: 9781737586906
Page Count: 32
Publisher: TricycleBooks.com
Review Posted Online: May 22, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A charming tale of an athlete who may not steal any bases but who will certainly steal readers’ hearts.
Ohtani, pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, teams up with Blank and Liem to tell the story of how his dog, Decoy, threw out a ceremonial first pitch.
It’s a big day! Decoy leaps “off the bed. Then back onto the bed. Then off the bed.” The enthusiastic pup heads outside to practice with his lucky baseball but is quickly distracted by squirrels (“we’ll play later!”), airplanes (“flyin’ high!”), and flowers (“smell ya soon!”). Dog and pitcher then head to the ballpark. In the locker room, Decoy high-paws Shohei’s teammates. It’s nearly time! But as Shohei prepares to warm up, Decoy realizes that he’s forgotten something important: his lucky ball. Without it, there will be “no championships, no parades, and no hot dogs!” Back home he goes, returning just in time. With Shohei at the plate, Decoy runs from the mound to his owner, rolling the ball into Shohei’s mitt for a “Striiiiike!” Related from a dog’s point of view, Ohtani and Blank’s energetic text lends the tale a sense of urgency and suspense. Liem’s illustrations capture the excitement of the first day of baseball season and the joys of locker room camaraderie, as well as Shohei and Decoy’s mutual affection—even when the ball is drenched in slobber, Shohei’s love for his pet shines through, and clearly, Decoy is focused when it matters.
A charming tale of an athlete who may not steal any bases but who will certainly steal readers’ hearts. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9780063460775
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
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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