Twelve Dinging Doorbells
by Tameka Fryer Brown; illus. by Ebony Glenn
Primary    Kokila/Penguin    32 pp.    g
10/22    978-1-9848-1517-0    $17.99
e-book ed.  978-1-9848-1518-7    $10.99

“At the first dinging doorbell this ­holiday I see… / a sweet potato pie just for me!” In this delightful takeoff on “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” a little Black girl’s house begins to fill with family, friends, music, dancing, and food. The celebration brings, among others, “seven brothers repping,” “six toddlers squealing,” and “LOTS OF MACARONI AND CHEEEEESE.” The growing (mostly happy) chaos is cleverly reflected in a subtly changing text and especially in the illustrations, which employ unusual perspectives and dynamic angles to great effect. A warm, funny, original book—and don’t worry, our little girl gets her pie in the end. ­

From the November/December 2022 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.