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HELLO, MY NAME IS BUNNY! TOKYO

TOKYO

A sweet and simple tale of forgiveness that teaches kids and adults alike the value of helping others.

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The fourth entry in Bloom’s children’s series takes Bunny the cat and readers to Tokyo.

Bunny Doogle Simmons-Bloom, the lovable black-and-white cat who travels around the world with her human parents, finds herself in the colorful streets of Tokyo in this installment. There she meets Fumiko the falcon, who, after the death of her husband at the hands of humans, is convinced people are only nice to animals they find cute. Bunny then introduces herself to Haruto, a kind old man who was left blind after the “environmental damage” caused by the long- ago war between the United States and Japan. As Bunny learns some elementary Japanese and how to write haikus from Haruto, she stumbles upon the “Wild Bunch,” a gang of rough-and-tumble cats who are feuding with a rival cat gang called the “Suzuki Crew.” When the Wild Bunch is forced to relocate from their established home, Bunny hatches a brilliant plan for the two gangs to live together in peace. She’ll have to put all her diplomatic skills to use to broker such a deal, since both sides remain highly suspicious of the other’s intentions. With the same kind of simple advice and clear lessons found in the series’ previous entries, Bunny encourages kids to keep going even in the face of setbacks: “What did help is knowing from experience that bad circumstances can get better if you keep trying, if you just hang in there.” Readers will also learn a bit about Japanese culture, including elements of Shintoism, and gain an appreciation for where their food comes from via descriptions of the city’s bustling fish market. The beautiful color illustrations by Mayell scattered throughout lend a sense of playfulness to the adventures that perfectly matches Bunny’s wide-eyed innocence. A question section at the book’s conclusion drives home the real-world lessons that Bunny learns.

A sweet and simple tale of forgiveness that teaches kids and adults alike the value of helping others.

Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2023

ISBN: 9780997642582

Page Count: 80

Publisher: Hello Bunny LLC

Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED

From the Little Blue Truck series

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

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PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

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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