Merry mayhem ensues when barnyard inhabitants decide to switch homes for the day. Throughout the farmyard, mischievous animals pop up in unexpected places—an owl in the birdhouse, a rooster in the stable, sheep in the pigsty. A couple of bewildered farmers spend their day chasing after the wayward creatures, woefully lamenting, "What shall we do?" However, when dinnertime approaches, the farmers discover everyone has settled in their proper places once again. Blackstone's rhymes perk along at a sprightly pace; bouncy verses provide readers with information about familiar barn animals, their sounds, and their domestic habitats. "There's a dove in the dairy, coo, coo, coo! He should be in the birdhouse, what shall we do?" Beaton's collages, created out of a mixture of felt, stitchery, beads, and buttons, capture the homespun charm of the country. The double-paged, full-color spreads are intricately detailed; layers of materials lend depth and texture to the pages, creating images that seem to pop off the pages. From tiny pink piglets gleefully scampering about to playful lambs splattering mud, these frisky illustrations have just the right kind of silliness that will appeal to preschool readers. (Picture book. 1-4)
Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-84148-333-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2001
An effervescent celebration of play in the early years.
As with Spanyol’s stellar Clive books, Rosa’s favorite activities buck gender stereotypes.
The toddler races toy cars, jumps monster trucks, and builds a car out of a cardboard box with her buddies in what looks like a day care or preschool setting. Spanyol’s childlike lines, soft palette, and chunky figures are as cheerful as ever. The text is mostly straightforward, simple narration peppered with exclamations from Rosa and her chums: “Rosa and Marcel play in the sandpit. ‘Dig-a-dig, dig-a-dig, scoop!’ sings Rosa.” Rosa has brown skin and black, curly hair, and she wears bright yellow eyeglasses. Her friends include Samira, who uses a wheelchair and is likely of South Asian descent; Mustafa, who appears black; Biba, who has light-brown skin and straight, black hair; and Sarah and Marcel, who both present white. Three other equally charming titles accompany this offering. In Rosa and Her Dinosaurs, the heroine dons a purple dress and plays with a collection of toy dinosaurs. Rosa and her buds (all wearing helmets) roll through the pages of Rosa Rides Her Scooter. And in Rosa Plays Ball, Rosa pushes a cart with various kinds of balls to toss about with her friends outside.
An effervescent celebration of play in the early years. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-78628-125-8
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Child's Play
Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The joys of counting combine with pretty art and homage to Goodnight Moon.
This bedtime book offers simple rhymes, celebrates the numbers one through 10, and encourages the counting of objects.
Each double-page spread shows a different toddler-and-caregiver pair, with careful attention to different skin tones, hair types, genders, and eye shapes. The pastel palette and soft, rounded contours of people and things add to the sleepy litany of the poems, beginning with “Goodnight, one fork. / Goodnight, one spoon. / Goodnight, one bowl. / I’ll see you soon.” With each number comes a different part in a toddler’s evening routine, including dinner, putting away toys, bathtime, and a bedtime story. The white backgrounds of the pages help to emphasize the bold representations of the numbers in both written and numerical forms. Each spread gives multiple opportunities to practice counting to its particular number; for example, the page for “four” includes four bottles of shampoo and four inlaid dots on a stool—beyond the four objects mentioned in the accompanying rhyme. Each home’s décor, and the array and types of toys and accoutrements within, shows a decidedly upscale, Western milieu. This seems compatible with the patronizing author’s note to adults, which accuses “the media” of indoctrinating children with fear of math “in our country.” Regardless, this sweet treatment of numbers and counting may be good prophylaxis against math phobia.
The joys of counting combine with pretty art and homage to Goodnight Moon. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-101-93378-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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