Alice Hemming

Nov 5, 2024 | kirkusreviews.com | William Joyce |Alice Hemming |Nicola Slater

Powered by whimsy and nostalgia, a doggone adorable tale of superheroes transforming the world for the better. Can flying puppies, fueled by people’s hugs, save the world from gloom? Light-skinned Snarly McBummerpants is busy sending out Mopey Smokes (evil-looking dark brown clouds) from his volcano on the Island of Woe to create a sad state of affairs.

Oct 29, 2024 | kirkusreviews.com | Alice Hemming |Nicola Slater |James Dean

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose amongPete, 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.

Jun 15, 2024 | kirkusreviews.com | Alice Hemming |Nicola Slater |Camille Garoche |Alice Schertle

May this endearing pair have more sneakily educational outings. The ground is all white and cold, and Squirrel has no idea why. Awakening to find the grass is gone, Squirrel panics and calls for Bird. Ever patient Bird explains that sometimes it snows in winter, and the grass just gets covered. Bird suggests they play in the snow, but Squirrel says it’s too cold…until Bird introduces Squirrel to snowballs. Suddenly, Squirrel loves snow. Bird also explains that snowflakes are all different shapes.

Nov 28, 2023 | kirkusreviews.com | Avi Steinberg |Laura Hughes |Alice Hemming |Nicola Slater

Kids will want to listen to this one again and again for creative inspiration. Steinberg playfully breaks the fourth wall to address a diverse cast of children depicted in digital cartoon art. The narrator explains that this is “a story no one has ever heard before” and adds, “I am not going to be the one to tell this story.” Gazing wide-eyed, the kids balk. “Wait, what?” “You’re not?’” two children ask in speech-balloon dialogue. “You are!” replies the narrator.

Sep 23, 2023 | kirkusreviews.com | Alice Hemming |Nicola Slater |Laura Hughes

A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors. A confused squirrel overreacts to the falling autumn leaves. Relaxing on a tree branch, Squirrel admires the red, gold, and orange leaves. Suddenly Squirrel screams, “One of my leaves is…MISSING!” Searching for the leaf, Squirrel tells Bird, “Someone stole my leaf!” Spying Mouse sailing in a leaf boat, Squirrel asks if Mouse stole the leaf. Mouse calmly replies in the negative.