A sweet selection to help comfort and pacify baby at bedtime.
Mama Owl and her baby owlet look down on the forest, watching as the animals settle down for the night.
The conversation between Owlet and Mama is presented in rhyming quatrains. Baby asks: “Mama, who sings a song / until Mouse falls asleep?” Mama answers: “The crickets sing high notes. / The bullfrogs sing deep.” The pair looks on as a mother mouse, deer, bunny, and bear all settle down in sleepy heaps with their young. When the sun begins to rise, it is time for Mama Owlet to rock her own little one to sleep: “Mama, who do you love / the way those mamas do?” “My sweet, precious Owlet, I’ll always love you.” The illustrations present the forest at night as a delicate world of greens and blues, illuminated by the soft glow of the moon and stars. The sleeping animals look equally peaceful and full of love, from bunnies to bears. The reassuring message, lilting language, quiet illustrations, and thick, padded cover make this one suitable for soothing little ones to sleep.
A sweet selection to help comfort and pacify baby at bedtime. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-58925-204-2
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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
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An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.
This simplified version of Diesen and Hanna’s The Pout-Pout Fish (2008) is appropriate for babies and toddlers.
Brief, rhyming text tells the story of a sullen fish cheered up with a kiss. A little pink sea creature pokes his head out of a hole in the sea bottom to give the gloomy fish some advice: “Smile, Mr. Fish! / You look so down // With your glum-glum face / And your pout-pout frown.” He explains that there’s no reason to be worried, scared, sad or mad and concludes: “How about a smooch? / And a cheer-up wish? // Now you look happy: / What a smile, Mr. Fish!” Simple and sweet, this tale offers the lesson that sometimes, all that’s needed for a turnaround in mood is some cheer and encouragement to change our perspective. The clean, uncluttered illustrations are kept simple, except for the pout-pout fish’s features, which are delightfully expressive. Little ones will easily recognize and likely try to copy the sad, scared and angry looks that cross the fish’s face.
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-374-37084-8
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
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