Beginning with a brilliantly colored rooster greeting the day in “Good Morning to You!” and concluding with a mother hen cuddling her chicks in “Good Night,” this compilation of rhymes, games, and learning will keep young readers busy from sunup to sundown. Fleming (Mama Cat Has Three Kittens, 1998, etc.) makes learning a fun, colorful experience. This eclectic collection encompasses virtually everything from preschool essentials, such as colors, shapes, and numbers, to fanciful nursery rhymes. There are traditional games for baby, including the finger game “Two Little Blackbirds” and the well-loved “Peekaboo!” Fleming’s signature color-drenched, pulp paintings help children identify an array of commonplace items baby sees in the course of the day: kitchen paraphernalia, favorite foods, and the multitude of tiny inhabitants of the backyard. Fleming’s unique medium consistently produces vividly hued, textured pictures that are fascinating to peruse. Throughout the book her artwork is laced with humor. The two-page spread Kitchen Toys has all the standards; spoon, pot, pan, with an added touch of whimsy—a kitten’s ears peeking out of the paper bag and a tot gleefully perched inside the large pot. Surprises await the turn of every page. In the counting section, the layout consists of the appropriate amount of eggs drawn next to the numeral and the word “egg” spelled out. However, get to number five and a quintet of baby crocodiles scurry away from their broken shells. It’s this unique combination of playfulness and learning that will keep young readers enthralled. Entertaining and educational, this is sure to please old fans and new. It truly has everything. (Picture book. 1-4)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-8050-6292-0
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.
Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.
This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-93809-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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