Category: Animal Characters

Blue Monster

by Petr Horácek

Otter-Barry Books. 36 pages.
Review written August 25, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

This book surprised me into laughing out loud when I opened it up to read. The titular Blue Monster looks friendly and sweet. The story plays out on a bright yellow background. As the book opens, Blue Monster is bored, and asks Rabbit to play with him. But Rabbit doesn’t hear him because he’s fast asleep.

When Blue Monster wakes up Rabbit, he doesn’t want to play because he wants to sleep.

So Blue Monster swallowed Rabbit.

But Rabbit’s friend saw what happened. Blue Monster is feeling embarrassed, so he swallows Rabbit’s friend, too.

And so it goes. This is my favorite exchange:

“Have you seen the rabbits anywhere?” asked Raccoon.

“I didn’t swallow them,” answered Blue Monster, but he looked a bit shifty.

So Raccoon said, “You did swallow them, didn’t you?”

What does Blue Monster do? I’ll bet you can guess.

I like the way the book connects feeling uncomfortable emotions with Blue Monster’s actions. And the background color shifts to blue and more subdued.

Now Blue Monster felt VERY bad.

He knew that swallowing friends is not a nice thing to do.

Besides, now there was definitely nobody who would play with him.

But no worries! When Blue Monster sits down, feeling sad, a bit lonely, and very guilty, he yawns – and all the animals climb out of his mouth (which conveniently has no teeth).

They all looked a bit cross, which, to be fair, was quite understandable.

The animals have a long chat. Blue Monster tells them how sorry he is, and after a stern talking-to that swallowing friends is not nice, he promises never to do it again, and we end with the animals playing nicely together and having lots and lots of fun.

And my description doesn’t do justice to the charm of this book. Of course it would be a perfect vehicle for what’s a good way to deal with uncomfortable emotions, and that we really shouldn’t swallow our friends. Also that everybody makes mistakes – there’s a nice model of apology and forgiveness.

And besides, it’s a sweet story that will make you smile.

petrhoracek.co.uk

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Incredibly Fast and Not at All Fun

by Tadgh Bentley

Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2026. 44 pages.
Review written August 17, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

I love roller coasters, so the cover of this book made me laugh out loud.

Here’s the set-up, that takes up the first few spreads:

Many summers ago
the world’s first roller coaster
was invented almost entirely by mistake.

All Bear wanted was a quick
and easy way to get from
the stillness of home . . .

to the calm of his beehives.
One that avoided the hustle and bustle
of the chattering woods below.

Bear called his invention the Honey Runner.
It was a bit steep.

The corners took some
getting used to.
And it was way too fast.

But he needed the speed to get up the slopes.

During all of these, we see a beautiful autumn forest with roller coaster tracks popping up between a vertical pillar where bear lives and a place on the forest floor with his hives. The start of the track is a vertical drop from bear’s house. There’s another hill and a bend before the track ends.

To Bear’s great surprise, his neighbors – from squirrels to moose, want to try out his invention. And even though they scream with terror, they want to do it again! What’s going on?

Bear tries signs:

It is incredibly
FAST
not at all
COMFORTABLE
and definitely not
FUN

But that doesn’t work at all.

He tries making rules against screaming or riding at night. That also doesn’t work.

Then he tries making the ride even scarier, with loops and twists, but that only brings bigger throngs.

I don’t know if this will delight the hearts of people who, like Bear, don’t understand the appeal of roller coasters – but it delighted me. (I have a theory that if you are exposed to roller coasters when you are in junior high, when your good sense is outweighed by your desire to try new things that your friends are doing – you will love roller coasters forever. I was at that crucial age when I first went upside down in a roller coaster and decided that nothing could scare me after that.)

Bear finally gives up and leaves his invention to the forest creatures who keep swarming it – and finds a new location for his home and hives that have a waterfall between them.

Bear’s cluelessness in not understanding the love other folks have for fast rides is shown rather than told – and it’s a delight! Check this one out to see for yourself and your kids.

TadghBentley.com

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Nani and the Lion

written by Alicia D. Williams
illustrated by Anna Cunha

A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book (Atheneum), 2026. 40 pages.
Review written March 25, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

Here’s a new picture book with all the marks of a storytime classic. The setting is a village “across the ocean, where trees stretched far and wide and mountains kissed the sky.” But near the village lives a grumpy lion who doesn’t like noise and declares that no one may make noise in King Lion’s Land.

Villagers were so afraid that they tiptoed to the watering holes. Roosters refused to call the sun. Even elephants dared not blow their trunks.

However, living in the village is a little girl named Nani who is gifted at drumming. She can imitate all the local animals by making sounds on her drum. And when she drums, the people can’t help but dance.

And then they remember the lion and tell her to be quiet.

So that’s the set-up. She tries three different locations, making people and animals dance. The sound of the drum will be one kids can’t resist making along with Nani.

But finally, the lion hears, and the lion comes. (And there are sound effects for that, of course.)

At first, Nani runs with the others.

But then she uses her drum to make the lion dance.

And it all winds up with a tired lion and a joyful village dance party.

It’s accompanied by wonderful and colorful illustrations, and the whole thing has a folk tale feel. As with most picture books I review, you really do need to check this one out yourself and try it on a child to appreciate how lovely it is.

aliciadwilliams.com

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Neville’s Great Escape

by Sean E. Avery

Walker Books, 2026. 32 pages.
Review written February 20, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

Neville’s Great Escape is a follow-up to Frank’s Red Hat, which is about a penguin who is different than other penguins because he starts wearing a red hat.

I think the main reason I never reviewed Frank’s Red Hat when it came out was that the image on the page that showed what happened when Neville tried the red hat was simply too terrifying. I couldn’t laugh my way past it. Poor Neville!

Well, that image from Frank’s Red Hat is exactly the image on the cover of Neville’s Great Escape – a giant killer whale looming over Neville, about to swallow him whole.

Hooray! Neville escapes! It’s right in the title! Now I can feel free to love both books.

So – this picture book is the story of how the penguin Neville escapes from the inside of a whale’s mouth.

His method is implausible and silly, involving lots of inexplicable furniture – but it’s also a lot of fun. Neville lives!

And he’s not eaten yet.

seaneavery.com

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Seven Little Ducklings

by Annette LeBlanc Cate

Candlewick Press, 2025. 40 pages.
Review written January 15, 2026, from a copy sent to me by the publisher.
Starred Review
2026 Mathical Book Prize Winner, PreK

When I first read this book, I didn’t fully appreciate it. But after discussing it with the Mathical Book Prize committee today and wholeheartedly selecting it as our winner, I want to post a review. (I’ll wait to post this until after the announcement is made.)

With the title and the opening, I thought it was, ho-hum, a counting book – something that’s already been done quite well in various other books. And sure enough, as the book opens, seven ducklings hatch while their mother is sleeping. And they step out into the wild.

This mother isn’t one to blithely go on her way while losing ducklings! She sets out looking for them.

And I almost didn’t notice the twist. At first, things are predictable. She finds the first duckling and they go on swimming together, then the second. But then we get this spread with four pictures:

From the jaws of a fox
she saves child number three.

The fourth duck is stuck
in the roots of a tree.

Three more small babies
are pulled from the ooze.

She plucks one from a dive,
then counts them, confused.

Because Mother Duck now has more babies than she started with!

This is when an astute reader notices the pictures – that some of the ducks are colored differently than the originals, and some of the babies aren’t ducks at all.

And she keeps collecting more babies in humorous ways – and eventually decides that all thirteen belong safe in her nest under her wings.

So, yes, it’s a counting book. But the story is so much more, and kids will love figuring out which are the new babies in the family. This stands up to repeated readings, with new things to spot each time. Besides counting, the pre-math skills of comparing and sorting are included – and kids get to be smarter than Mama Duck.

candlewick.com

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The Littlest Drop

by Sascha Alper
illustrations by Jerry Pinkney and Brian Pinkney

Anne Schwartz Books, 2025. 40 pages.
Review written November 18, 2025, from a library book.
Starred Review

This picture book retells a folk tale the author originally heard from the environmentalist Wangari Maathai. Brian Pinkney tells us that his father had left behind sketches that were almost complete, but he hadn’t started painting yet. Brian lovingly completed them with a result that’s a beautiful combination of both of their styles.

The story is of a hummingbird who lives in “a vast, beautiful land that was a home to all of the animals.” After she builds her nest, a spark starts a fire not far away.

All the animals flee to the river and huddle frightened by its side. But the hummingbird wants to do something.

And so the hummingbird flew to the river and filled her tiny beak with just the littlest drop of water, for that was all that it would hold.

When the other animals tell her she’s too small to put out the fire, she answers, “I am doing what I can.”

And that prompts the elephant to do what she can. And soon all the animals are working to put out the terrible fire. And the last drop that puts out the fire comes from the hummingbird.

It’s a lovely tale about each of us doing our bit. Who knows? You may inspire others to all work together to help everyone.

justjerrypinkney.com
brianpinkney.net
rhcbooks.com

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