Young ones will want to join in on this monster romp again and again, since it is all so silly, comforting and familiar.
The menagerie of monsters from Yolen and Murphy’s previous pairing (Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters, 2011) returns for an adventure at the playground.
All sorts and sizes of monsters gather at Creepy Commons to have some fun. The author uses two- or three-word phrases to build a steady rhyming text describing the full range of activities taking place. “Monsters stretch. / Monsters twirl. // Monsters catch. / Monsters hurl. // Monsters tumble, / Run, and lope. / Monsters jump / A monster rope.” The cadence will be soothing to young ears, leaving the eyes of toddlers and preschoolers to discover the playful details found throughout the soft-hued illustrations painted in oil, acrylic and gel. This diverse bunch is cute and cuddly without coming across as overly sweet. Some have four eyeballs, and some have only one. Pointy horns and handlike hair sprout from curious places on this happily rambunctious crew. Big and small, young and old—all cavort on slides and swings. Occasionally, there is a mishap—“Monsters in / Three-legged races / Fall upon / Their Monster faces”—but it is nothing a “monster-sicle” treat cannot fix.
Young ones will want to join in on this monster romp again and again, since it is all so silly, comforting and familiar. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 9, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5727-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
The history of music is a big topic, and more-nuanced explanation is needed than the format allows.
This ambitious board book aims to promote an eclectic appreciation for music of all kinds.
Music, from drumming to computer-generated sound, is introduced as a linear historical sequence with two pages devoted to each of 11 styles, including medieval European, orchestral, blues, and more. Most of the musicians are portrayed as children, many with darker skin tones and with hairstyles and garb commonly associated with each type of music. Radford works in a retro cartoon mode, varying his presentation slightly with each new musical style but including a dancing dachshund on almost every spread, presumably to enhance child appeal. Unfortunately, the book just can’t succeed in reducing such a wide range of musical styles to toddler-appropriate language. The first two spreads read: “We start with clapping, tapping, and drums. // Lutes, flutes, and words are what we become.” The accompanying illustrations show, respectively, half-naked drummers and European court figures reading, writing, and playing a flute. Both spreads feature both brown-skinned and pale-skinned figures. At first reading this seems innocent enough, but the implication that clapping and drumming are somehow less civilized or sophisticated than a European style is reinforced in Stosuy’s glossary of music terms. He describes “Prehistoric Music” as “rhythmic music [made] with rocks, sticks, bones, and…voices,” while “Renaissance Music” is defined as “multiple melodies played at the same time.”
The history of music is a big topic, and more-nuanced explanation is needed than the format allows. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-0941-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
A young wizard helps cure Dudley the dragon’s hiccups.
He does so after the royal family and their servants call on him to help solve the hiccup-induced wafts of smoke that keep appearing throughout the castle. Magician Max concocts a potion that quickly cures Dudley, to everyone’s delight. On each page, there is a die-cut hole shaped like arched windows or an opening to a cellar. When the page is turned, the image framed by the hole appears on the next double-page spread. These features appear to be only an attention-getting gimmick and do little to illuminate the slight story. While there are some clever images in the jewel-toned, detailed cartoon art (a spider wearing a gas mask or eyes and frog legs in Max’s potion pot), the antics and medieval imagery are going to go over the heads of typical board-book readers. The interactive feature on the cover—a pull-tab at the top of the book that opens and closes the castle doors to reveal the hero Max—will probably interest youngsters the most. The companion title, A Ballet to Remember (978-0-7641-6645-7), employs this pull-tab feature to better effect, as it opens and closes a stage curtain. Here, the story focuses on an upcoming ballet recital. A puppy belonging to one of the dancers wreaks havoc with the costumes, and the performers have to set things right before the big show. Again, the youngest readers are not going to get much out of the tale, which also utilizes the die-cut holes in the pages. Neither magical nor memorable for typical board-book readers. (Board book. 3-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7641-6647-1
Page Count: 10
Publisher: Barron's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 19, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
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