Uncomfortable and unremarkable.
Kids of many races celebrate nationalism at a Fourth of July parade.
This latest volume in the First Celebrations series invites children to identify eight basic colors and a few simple objects in a no-frills parade. The images are easily grasped but dull, with the same blue background on most pages. The occasion for the parade isn’t named, but the prevalence of red, white, and blue and an appearance by Uncle Sam suggest the Fourth of July. The top of the book is cut in a wavy pattern that complements the ripples of the flag on the cover, and two pages that focus on the red-and-white stripes of the flag exhort readers to “wave a flag back and forth.” The parade includes a fire engine, a marching band, floats, and a brown-skinned police officer on horseback. The multicultural cast also includes a black firefighter, a white marching-band drummer, and children of a variety of skin tones. This book can be seen as either determinedly aspirational or tone-deaf to the current moment. Against a backdrop of anti-immigrant sentiment and deportations, the celebratory air and unvaryingly smiling faces feel forced in their apparent enthusiasm.
Uncomfortable and unremarkable. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: May 2, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-58089-536-1
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead.
An Easter-themed board-book parody of the traditional nursery rhyme.
Unfortunately, this effort is just as sugary and uninspired as The Itsy Bitsy Snowman, offered by the same pair in 2015. A cheerful white bunny hops through a pastel world to distribute candy and treats for Easter but spills his baskets. A hedgehog, fox, mouse, and various birds come to the bunny’s rescue, retrieving the candy, helping to devise a distribution plan, and hiding the eggs. Then magically, they all fly off in a hot air balloon as the little animals in the village emerge to find the treats. Without any apparent purpose, the type changes color to highlight some words. For very young children every word is new, so highlighting “tiny tail” or “friends” makes no sense. Although the text is meant to be sung, the words don't quite fit the rhythm of the original song. Moreover, there are not clear motions to accompany the text; without the fingerplay movements, this book has none of the satisfying verve of the traditional version.
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5621-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
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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
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