A gentle tale with important messaging about mindfulness.
Grammy Award–winning singer/songwriter Morris teams up with Argow, an educator and her longtime best friend, for a companion to Addie Ant Goes on an Adventure (2024), this time focusing on a butterfly with a case of the blahs.
Beatrix Butterfly can’t face her lengthy to-do list. All she can do is huddle under the covers and chide herself for her lack of industry. But when mail carrier Ellis Squirrel arrives, he advises that she forget her list and just “wing it.” Beatrix appreciates the fresh perspective. She recalls a task she’d promised to do for her friend Lewis Ladybug—gathering rose petals for an upcoming performance—and completes it. Delivering her cargo, Beatrix apologizes for her lateness. Lewis isn’t bothered and urges Beatrix to take the time to appreciate the beautiful surroundings. Beatrix does additional favors for Lewis and a mutual pal. Then, she and her friends enjoy Lewis’ “much-buzzed-about one-bug show.” Beatrix is delighted to have helped others—and to have “winged it.” The story feels preachy at times, with characters pausing to deliver grand pronouncements. Still, the authors make valuable points about not pushing oneself and to take the time to refresh oneself and appreciate one’s surroundings. The colors of plants and wildlife in the illustrations pop against the pages. Beatrix and company are wide-eyed and fetching.
A gentle tale with important messaging about mindfulness. (information on butterflies) (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 8, 2025
ISBN: 9781797235035
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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
Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees.
After Duncan finds his crayons gone—yet again—letters arrive, detailing their adventures in friendship.
Eleven crayons send missives from their chosen spots throughout Duncan’s home (and one from his classroom). Red enjoys the thrill of extinguishing “pretend fires” with Duncan’s toy firetruck. White, so often dismissed as invisible, finds a new calling subbing in for the missing queen on the black-and-white chessboard. “Now everyone ALWAYS SEES ME!…(Well, half the time!)” Pink’s living the dream as a pastry chef helming the Breezy Bake Oven, “baking everything from little cupcakes…to…OTHER little cupcakes!” Teal, who’s hitched a ride to school in Duncan’s backpack, meets the crayons in the boy’s desk and writes, “Guess what? I HAVE A TWIN! How come you never told me?” Duncan wants to see his crayons and “meet their new friends.” A culminating dinner party assembles the crayons and their many guests: a table tennis ball, dog biscuits, a well-loved teddy bear, and more. The premise—personified crayons, away and back again—is well-trammeled territory by now, after over a dozen books and spinoffs, and Jeffers once more delivers his signature cartooning and hand-lettering. Though the pages lack the laugh-out-loud sight gags and side-splittingly funny asides of previous outings, readers—especially fans of the crayons’ previous outings—will enjoy checking in on their pals.
Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9780593622360
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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