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THE RED TIN BOX

Name: THE RED TIN BOX
Author: Matthew Burgess
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7973-5

by Matthew Burgess ; illustrated by Evan Turk ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 4, 2023

An unforgettable ode to intergenerational bonds.

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A girl grows up and passes on her childhood treasures to her granddaughter.

Before sunrise on her eighth birthday, Maude, a young Black girl, heads into the woods, where she buries a red tin box full of treasures beneath a dogwood tree and makes herself a promise. As she grows older—raising a family of her own with a Black, female-presenting partner—she never forgets that red tin box, but she does begin to forget its contents. Overcome with urgency one day, Maude picks up her granddaughter Eve, and, as they drive to Maude’s childhood home, Maude tells Eve about the box. Somehow, Maude knows where to dig, and together they stumble upon Maude’s simple treasures. On the drive home, Maude passes down stories and later gives Eve the treasures so that her granddaughter can make her own promise to herself. Majestic illustrations with smudgy strokes and breathtakingly vibrant hues that bleed into each other—the reds, purples, and pinks of sunset, the blues and blacks of twilight—heartwarmingly limn Maude’s love for her family and the life she has lived. Simple, poetic language engages the senses throughout this quiet, subtle celebration of familial relationships. This is the perfect read-aloud to showcase how traditions and stories are passed down to future generations and that simple items can bring the most joy along with the stories attached to them. All characters depicted are Black. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An unforgettable ode to intergenerational bonds. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: April 4, 2023

ISBN: 978-1-4521-7973-5

Page Count: 64

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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IF THE MOON
by Matthew Burgess ; illustrated by Matthew Forsythe

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SERAFINA MAKES WAVES
by Matthew Burgess ; illustrated by Robin Rosenthal

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MUNGO ON HIS OWN
by Matthew Burgess ; illustrated by Julie Benbassat

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK LOST AND FOUND

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 18, 2026

Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed.

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Beep! Beep! Beep! Toad and Little Blue Truck get ready for a hayride.

After the titular vehicle is loaded with hay, Toad is nowhere to be found. “Beep! Beep! Beep! Where are you, Toad?” asks Little Blue Truck. All the barnyard animals look for him. Sheep searches the meadow. Goose and Duck check the pond. Others pitch in, too, but Toad seems to have disappeared…until Hen hears snoring coming from the pile of hay in the back of Little Blue Truck. Although the text’s scansion is imperfect in places (adults may want to pre-read to ensure a smooth read-aloud), the bouncy meter and rhyming text nevertheless capture the energy of the search and the farmyard community’s concern for Toad’s safety, making this a solid storytime choice. Eye-catching illustrations with rich, fully saturated colors balance the right level of detail while still highlighting the animal that is the focus of each verse. By introducing one farm animal at a time, Schertle also helps the youngest readers begin to identify barnyard animals by name and understand their unique farm homes. Traditional animal sounds are part of the text, and listeners will add them to their vocabulary. It all ends with the promised hayride, bringing the tale to a joyous ending.

Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2026

ISBN: 9780063436121

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)