This book will have babies and toddlers spinning the pages again and again.
A genuinely clever new twist on standard board-book topics.
Extra-thick die-cut shapes set on thin spindles turn at the center of each page to make a counting and matching game. The first spin is fairly straightforward—a ladybug with just one spot turns to reveal the same ladybug with two spots. The challenge is to have the spots aligned correctly with the numeral and spelled-out number. Young children will just want to spin the image. Thoughtful adults will be needed to point out the variations in each side of the image. What is counted on subsequent pages is more obscure: zigzags on a fish, stars on a starfish, splashes on a pig, stripes on a tiger. Bright colors, cheerful, smiling animal characters, and that spin will make this twisty title a favorite of active babies and toddlers. The companion volume, Shapes, is equally sophisticated, starting with diamond and including circle and semicircle, square and rectangle, oval and crescent, star and pentagon. Too often a clever concept means a steep price, but that is not the case here; the book is no more expensive than many far less enticing board books. The extra-thick pages needed to accommodate the spindles make the book rather heavy for the youngest children to manipulate, but its sturdy construction is ample compensation.
This book will have babies and toddlers spinning the pages again and again. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7641-6809-3
Page Count: 10
Publisher: Barron's
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.
This simplified version of Diesen and Hanna’s The Pout-Pout Fish (2008) is appropriate for babies and toddlers.
Brief, rhyming text tells the story of a sullen fish cheered up with a kiss. A little pink sea creature pokes his head out of a hole in the sea bottom to give the gloomy fish some advice: “Smile, Mr. Fish! / You look so down // With your glum-glum face / And your pout-pout frown.” He explains that there’s no reason to be worried, scared, sad or mad and concludes: “How about a smooch? / And a cheer-up wish? // Now you look happy: / What a smile, Mr. Fish!” Simple and sweet, this tale offers the lesson that sometimes, all that’s needed for a turnaround in mood is some cheer and encouragement to change our perspective. The clean, uncluttered illustrations are kept simple, except for the pout-pout fish’s features, which are delightfully expressive. Little ones will easily recognize and likely try to copy the sad, scared and angry looks that cross the fish’s face.
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-374-37084-8
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Peek, and you’ll find a rollicking romp here.
The favorite game of toddlers gets a dino twist.
A large dinosaur tries to outsmart a smaller companion when the duo play peekaboo together. The big dino naïvely believes they won’t be noticed behind or under sundry hiding places, but the little pal always finds their playmate. Young listeners will giggle as the large dino attempts to outwit the little one, but in vain; in every instance, the diminutive, overalls-clad dino calls out a triumphant “Peekaboo!” How come? Is it because thin tree trunks and a potted plant can’t conceal the large dino’s frame? Do the big dino’s bold, flower-print shirts stick out a mile? Even when the large dinosaur attempts an aerial hiding place, they discover that ruse doesn’t, ahem, fly, nor does hiding in a crowd wearing a Where’s Waldo?–esque red-striped cap and T-shirt do any good. In a display of good sportsmanship, the big dino concedes at the end the game was fun. The youngest audiences, all of whom will have likely engaged in marathon peekaboo sessions themselves, will undoubtedly scramble to play again. Besides stimulating playtime, this adorable board book, expressed in lilting rhymes, boosts vocabulary development through the use of some common prepositions (behind, in) and adverbs (here, there, everywhere). The illustrations are sweetly engaging; the round cutout on the front cover invites youngsters to play peekaboo games with adult partners and others. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Peek, and you’ll find a rollicking romp here. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-66592-840-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Boynton Bookworks
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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