Silly, sweet and simple, this counting primer is a great choice for solo exploration or group sharing in a doggy-themed...
Parr brings his signature, toddler-friendly style to two of kids’ favorite things: counting and puppies.
This simple counting book written in rhyme features 10 different displays of doggy devotion. Take, for example: “One silly doggy kiss / on the head. // Two cuddly doggy kisses / when in bed.” A short snatch of text and a large numeral appear on the left-hand page with a complementary illustration on the right. The chunky black lines that outline the drawings and numerals make each element pop out dramatically against the solid backgrounds of vibrant hues —often yellow, red and bright blue. The illustrations are composed of simple, childlike renderings of widely smiling children and puckering pups of all shapes, sizes and colors. The final spread provides a nice opportunity for review, showcasing as it does the numerals 1 through 10 accompanied by their adorable doggies and a brief description of their kisses. The rhyming verses don’t exactly trip off the tongue, but kids aren’t likely to mind, focused as they’ll be on counting the pooches’ smooches. Sturdy, glossy pages will stand up to multiple readings—and a fair amount of slobber.
Silly, sweet and simple, this counting primer is a great choice for solo exploration or group sharing in a doggy-themed storytime. (Board book. 0-3)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-316-20737-9
Page Count: 24
Publisher: LB Kids/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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BOOK REVIEW
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