An excellent and empathetic manual for anyone who regularly interacts with dogs.
Svoboda offers an illustrated guide for kids and adults on understanding canine body language.
Kaja, a black-and-white dog, leads readers through her neighborhood and introduces her canine friends who live there. Acting as tutor and translator, she points out how each animal uses their body to show their emotions. The book shows and describes each behavior in ways that kids will find easy to comprehend and follows up with questions meant to generate empathy. For instance, an illustration features two excited children chasing a dog, and Kaja notes, “I can tell she is scared because her ears are back and her tail is underneath her.” She then asks the reader what they do when they feel scared. The book covers both positive and negative canine emotions, showing dogs who are frightened or angry but also those who are happy or excited. A “Parent’s Corner” (denoted by a pawprint symbol) offers additional important details for adults, such as “Moving your child after a warning growl builds trust and creates a safe space for the dog.” Lastly, the book offers discussion and comprehension questions and reveals the breed of each dog in the illustrations. (Kaja, for instance, is a mix of springer spaniel and Labrador retriever.) Knoppová’s cheery illustrations are both appealing and informative; the dogs’ faces are wonderfully expressive, and their body language is just as clear and easy to understand. Whenever children’s books address safety, there’s always the possibility of expressing danger in a way that frightens readers, but fortunately, that’s not the case here. Instead, it’s a compassionate and empowering read that makes clear to children that dogs can also feel nervous, excited, or upset—and that it’s important to be able to identify those feelings in order to respect them.
An excellent and empathetic manual for anyone who regularly interacts with dogs.Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9798992483000
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Boda Books
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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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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