This book is such a pleasure it prompts the question: Can we have an uncle book next? (Board book. 1-3)
There are plenty of books about the love that mommy, dad, grandma, and/or grandpa feel for a child, but good luck finding a book about the special bond between a child and an aunt. This board book meets that need.
On each bright, cheery spread an aunt is shown playing with a niece or nephew. Two of the children present female; two present male. The last two scenes feature the same infant in a pink onesie. There are no mixed-race duos; each pair has similar skin tones, hair color and texture, etc. But in each case, the delight Auntie and toddler take in each other’s company is clear. On the first page a little girl practically leaps to open the lift-the-flap door on the opposite page because, “It’s Auntie!” This pattern of a question with the answer revealed behind an easily manipulated flap is repeated for every spread. One tot asks, “What’s in your purse, Auntie?” (a toy dinosaur). Another pair is playing hide-and-seek. Excursions to a fancy restaurant and the zoo are featured in the next two scenes. The final scene—of Auntie and child reading together—ends with “A big Auntie hug and kiss!” Katz’s bold, patterned illustrations, straightforward text printed in a clean type, oversized flaps, and a diverse cast of characters make this a fine choice for celebrating this special relationship.
This book is such a pleasure it prompts the question: Can we have an uncle book next? (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-2923-9
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring in alphabetical order.
Each page displays an enormous capital letter, one line of verse with the keyword capitalized, and a loving nonhuman parent gazing adoringly at their baby. “A is for Always. I always love you more. / B is for Butterfly kisses. It’s you that I adore.” While not named or labelled as such, the A is also for an alligator and its hatchling and B is for a butterfly and a butterfly child (not a caterpillar—biology is not the aim of this title) interacting in some way with the said letter. For E there are an elephant and a calf; U features a unicorn and foal; and X, keyed to the last letter of the animal’s name, corresponds to a fox and three pups. The final double-page spread shows all the featured creatures and their babies as the last line declares: “Baby, I love you from A to Z!” The verse is standard fare and appropriately sentimental. The art is cartoony-cute and populated by suitably loving critters on solid backgrounds. Hearts accent each scene, but the theme of the project is never in any doubt.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2095-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Guess how much you’ll be reading this.
Parent and child share a day of small adventures and cozy snuggles.
That the two happen to be tortoises is totally beside the point. Die-cut holes and shaped edges turn nearly every page flip into a surprise. Following a parental “Good morning, Baby” to greet the youngling’s “Wake up, wake up, I want to play… / The sun is up, it’s a brand new day!” the two reptiles ramble off to munch on leaves, weather a sudden rain shower, discover a flock of butterflies, climb a hill, watch the moon rise, and, at last, weary little one perched on top, settle down to snooze again. The paper engineering is ingenious. Turning a seemingly arbitrarily shaped page with a special window framing a pink butterfly fills the spread with many jewel-toned insects; even though the tortoises never change position, the scene is completely transformed. Hegarty’s rhymed narrative features lots of tender sentiments—“Wherever you are, wherever you go, / Baby, I’ll always love you so”—while steering clear of any gender references. In Elliott’s peaceful, grassy settings the wanderers’ small smiles and shared glances likewise create a sense of loving intimacy. This is likely to become a victim of its own appeal, being as the paper stock is rather too flimsy to survive much contact with toddler hands. Still, a clear winner for sharing with audiences of one or dozens.
Guess how much you’ll be reading this. (Novelty. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-3509-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
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