These cutesy board books come across as just more saccharine fluff.
Sweet exclamations of unconditional love and admiration are the order of the day here.
Pattern sentences on five double-page spreads start the same way: “I love the way you....” On each page the sentence is completed using animal behavior as a metaphor. In Magsamen's persistently cheerful world, children monkeying around, stomping, and roaring are always appreciated, but toddlers may find that their own parents don’t always follow the book when they stomp and roar. The cartoonish animals modeled on hand-stitched stuffed animals make it clear that this is a fantasy world. Bright backgrounds make the childlike printed text stand out. On each spread the key verb is highlighted by a patchwork design. The pictures are not always clear; “monkey around” is illustrated by swinging monkeys, but a zebra beneath them figures more prominently. Illustrating penguins waddling is also tough. Itsy-Bitsy I Love You, published simultaneously, uses the same design features to rewrite the classic nursery song as a sappy ode to love, kisses, hugs, and cuddles. Felt features on the covers of both titles are tactile extras that may attract fingers but add nothing to the value or message.
These cutesy board books come across as just more saccharine fluff. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: June 28, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-46839-8
Page Count: 10
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A joyful celebration.
Families in a variety of configurations play, dance, and celebrate together.
The rhymed verse, based on a song from the Noodle Loaf children’s podcast, declares that “Families belong / Together like a puzzle / Different-sized people / One big snuggle.” The accompanying image shows an interracial couple of caregivers (one with brown skin and one pale) cuddling with a pajama-clad toddler with light brown skin and surrounded by two cats and a dog. Subsequent pages show a wide array of families with members of many different racial presentations engaging in bike and bus rides, indoor dance parties, and more. In some, readers see only one caregiver: a father or a grandparent, perhaps. One same-sex couple with two children in tow are expecting another child. Smart’s illustrations are playful and expressive, curating the most joyful moments of family life. The verse, punctuated by the word together, frequently set in oversized font, is gently inclusive at its best but may trip up readers with its irregular rhythms. The song that inspired the book can be found on the Noodle Loaf website.
A joyful celebration. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22276-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead.
An Easter-themed board-book parody of the traditional nursery rhyme.
Unfortunately, this effort is just as sugary and uninspired as The Itsy Bitsy Snowman, offered by the same pair in 2015. A cheerful white bunny hops through a pastel world to distribute candy and treats for Easter but spills his baskets. A hedgehog, fox, mouse, and various birds come to the bunny’s rescue, retrieving the candy, helping to devise a distribution plan, and hiding the eggs. Then magically, they all fly off in a hot air balloon as the little animals in the village emerge to find the treats. Without any apparent purpose, the type changes color to highlight some words. For very young children every word is new, so highlighting “tiny tail” or “friends” makes no sense. Although the text is meant to be sung, the words don't quite fit the rhythm of the original song. Moreover, there are not clear motions to accompany the text; without the fingerplay movements, this book has none of the satisfying verve of the traditional version.
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5621-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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