The use of simple shapes, multiple colors, a variety of minimally depicted figures (which a child might see in a...
Learn the numerals from 1 through 20 with big, bold pictures and simple captions.
The left-hand side of each double-page spread features the spelled-out number, center top; the numeral in question big and bold below; and all the numerals from 1 to 20 on the bottom, with the chosen one underlined. On the right-hand page is a simple illustration and description: "One smiling snake cuddles his favorite teddy bear," for example. Each number is treated to a different color scheme and different figures to illustrate it. "Six greedy penguins gobble juicy jelly beans" on a mini-iceberg, "[n]ine daring ladybugs show off on their skateboards," and "[s]ixteen lost clouds find their way home" in formation above a pink house with a purple roof. Several jokes are also tucked in. "Fourteen fearless kites fly higher and higher" features a child hitching a ride on the tail of one kite. And "Four freaky frogs have holes in their socks" depicts each frog on its own lily pad, a colorful sock on only one of its feet. After number 20 ("sleepy spiders"), there's a review of each number, taking four pages. There is no unifying theme beyond Basher’s distinctive graphics.
The use of simple shapes, multiple colors, a variety of minimally depicted figures (which a child might see in a kindergarten classroom), big numbers, and ample background space is a winning combination. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: June 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7534-6772-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Kingfisher
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2012
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.
You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!
What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0534-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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