Stronger in dreamy cuteness than in astronomical facts. Better bedtime books abound
A sleepy sun says goodnight to nine planets and other solar system inhabitants.
From Mercury to Pluto, planets dutifully, and mostly cheerfully, prepare for bed. Sister Venus dons her nightgown; Mother Earth, with hair in rollers, wears pajamas. Grumpy Mars takes a shower; Jupiter scrubs his spot, etc., on to “Teeny Pluto (not to miss)," who wants "one more hug and kiss." In backmatter, Pluto is correctly identified as a dwarf planet, but other dwarf planets aren't mentioned. Asteroids appear between Uranus and Neptune in the story; the asteroid belt, usually shown between Mars and Jupiter is missing in the backmatter map. An additional science half-truth is the assertion that Venus can be seen in the sky at night; like the other Copernican planets, Venus may be seen in the evening, night, or early morning depending on the time of year. Couplets, mostly in rhyme, make up the text, but readers-aloud may find the rhythm bumpy. Sometimes there are four beats to a line; sometimes three. Set on a black background, Cenko's appealing, digitally created images seem perfect for animation. The globe of each planet becomes its face; two arms and a nightcap complete the image. (Before his shower, Mars has a baseball cap and a dog.)
Stronger in dreamy cuteness than in astronomical facts. Better bedtime books abound . (Picture book. 1-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-936669-49-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: blue manatee press
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
A gentle outing for children who are ready for stories of everyday life rather than just objects to name.
A brief rhyming board book for toddlers.
Spurr's earlier board books (In the Garden and At the Beach, both 2012; In the Woods, 2013) featured an adventuresome little boy. Her new slice-of-life story stars an equally joyful little girl who takes pleasure in flying a new kite while not venturing far off the walkway. Oliphant's expressive and light-filled watercolors clearly depict the child's emotions—eager excitement on the way to the park, delight at the kite's flight in the wind, shock when the kite breaks free, dejection, and finally relief and amazement. The rhymes work, though uneven syllable counts in some stanzas interrupt the smooth flow of the verse. The illustrations depict the child with her mass of windblown curls, brown skin, and pronounced facial features as African-American. Her guardian (presumably her mother) is also brown-skinned. It is refreshing to see an African-American family settled comfortably in a suburban setting with single-family homes and a park where the family dog does not need to be leashed.
A gentle outing for children who are ready for stories of everyday life rather than just objects to name. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-56145-854-7
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
Is this a nature book? Not really. But with beautiful young faces respecting living creatures, it is a great choice for...
With expressions of wonder and delight, little toddlers explore nature in its tiniest forms, seeing critters and flowers with the curiosity of new eyes.
McPike and Barton have created a companion book to their comforting bedtime read-aloud, Little Sleepyhead (2015). This outing repeats the same rhythmic couplets, bringing together the simplest of flora and fauna with a racially diverse group of toddlers. Barton uses digitized pencil sketches to capture the wide-eyed, breath-holding feeling of seeing a caterpillar for the first time. The children’s delight in the snails, bluebirds, and bunnies is a gentle introduction to quietly observing nature. "Little bitty chipmunks, chattering all the day / Little bitty ladybug always comes to play." (Here a ladybug crawls across a giggling toddler’s forehead.) The illustrations are open and breezy with white space, and the spare text printed in different colors keeps the focus simple. While the repeated phrase of "little bitty" provides a consistent thread from beginning to end, the uniqueness of every child is clear. Yet even the wide range of skin tones and hairstyles is secondary to the universal feeling of wonder.
Is this a nature book? Not really. But with beautiful young faces respecting living creatures, it is a great choice for toddler libraries. (Picture book. 1-3)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-17255-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
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