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WHO ATE MY FRUIT?

Sweet, attractive, and engaging.

Animals, fruit, and friendship come together in this lift-the-flap board book.

A cat is hungry and wants to eat some fruit. That should be no problem “I have…1 pear, 1 pineapple, 1 strawberry and 1 banana,” it thinks, imagining each fruit above the printed word. But someone has eaten the pear. The illustration shows a pear with a big bite out of it, the half with the bite printed on a flap that meshes neatly with the intact half on the page beneath. When little ones lift the flap, the culprit is revealed, its body formed in part by the same shape of the fruit. In the case of the pear, it’s a green seal whose rounded head and back look quite pear-shaped. As the book progresses, the cat finds that, one by one, the other pieces of fruit have also been consumed. And, each time, lifting the flap reveals the culprit. In the end, the cat despairingly declares, “My friends ate all my fruit! I’m so hungry!” But no! The other animals reveal their surprise: They’ve made a fruit salad. “For me? Thank you! Please, have some!” The Spanish version, publishing simultaneously, ¿Quién se comió mi fruta? has a bonus; little ones can count back from four as the fruit is consumed. Also publishing simultaneously are Who Ate My Cakes? and ¿Quién se comió mi pastel? which follow the same format. This time, the cat’s cakes are being consumed by a different set of animal friends, and the surprise is a birthday cake. Colorful, simple and stylized graphics against plain backgrounds depict the edibles and animals in question.

Sweet, attractive, and engaging. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2020

ISBN: 978-84-18133-10-7

Page Count: 16

Publisher: NubeOcho

Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020

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SPOOKY POOKIE

A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.

One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.

It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.

A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: July 7, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5

Page Count: 18

Publisher: Robin Corey/Random

Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016

Categories:
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EEK! HALLOWEEN!

An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver.

The farmyard's chickens experience Halloween.

A round, full moon shines in the sky, and the chickens of Boynton's barnyard are feeling “nervous.” Pumpkins shine “with flickering eyes,” witches and wizards wander the pastures, and one chicken has seen “a mouse of enormous size.” It’s Halloween night, and readers will delight as the chickens huddle together and try to figure out what's going on. All ends well, of course, and in Boynton's trademark silly style. (It’s really quite remarkable how her ranks of white, yellow-beaked chickens evoke rows of candy corn.) At this point parents and children know what they're in for when they pick up a book by the prolific author, and she doesn't disappoint here. The chickens are silly, the pigs are cute, and the coloring and illustrations evoke a warmth that little ones wary of Halloween will appreciate. For children leery of the ghouls and goblins lurking in the holiday's iconography, this is a perfect antidote, emphasizing all the fun Halloween has to offer.

An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-7611-9300-5

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Workman

Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017

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