A delightfully messy pussycat rumpus.
What can 10 cats and three cans of paint teach us?
A white adult cat and nine kittens of various hues and stripes make up the 10 titular cats. “1 white cat.” “2 black cats.” “3 cats with stripes.” “4 cats with patches.” As the adult cat naps, the kittens play with the three cans of paint (in primary colors, of course)…and suddenly five kittens have red spots. Then six have yellow dots. Seven cats have blue blotches. As red and yellow mix, eight cats find themselves with orange patches. And when blue and yellow mix, nine cats are covered with green splotches. Finally, the adult cat awakens and decides that these “10 multicolored cats” (themself included) need baths. Everyone takes a dip in a tub and towels off. Gravett’s cat and kittens are adorable, with wide, expressive eyes and all the moves (and toe beans) of real felines. The simple text will help kids learn their colors and numbers. Each double-page spread is devoted to a different number and color (or pattern). Pet owners will easily recognize their own kitty companions in the illustrations created with pencil, watercolor, and “a smidgeon of digital fiddle-faddling.” Even those who know their numbers and colors will enjoy this tale, which serves as a fine modernization to Margaret Wise Brown’s Color Kittens (1949), illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A delightfully messy pussycat rumpus. (Concept book. 1-5)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781914912580
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boxer Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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