“Mommy and I made a garden!...Can you guess what will grow?” A too-clever-by-half design gives this book a die-cut handle with cut-outs that reveal an ever-filling basket of produce, from green cabbage and purple turnips to orange carrots, yellow squash and red tomatoes—culminating in “vegetable soup for lunch!” An entry in the “Little Green Books” line of eco-friendly products, this proudly proclaims its provenance “from 100% recycled material.” Unfortunately, the brown recycled stock makes a poor background for a color-concept book, and the resultant hues look murky and often do not provide enough contrast to tell colors apart, particularly when laid on top of one another by the die-cut patterns. While it’s nice to see Asian-American characters, this well-meaning offering misses the mark. (1-2)
Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4169-6767-5
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2008
As bright and bold as the holiday it celebrates.
An excited little one celebrates Easter.
The Easter Bunny is on its way, and Patricelli’s one-haired tot is thrilled. He prepares for the holiday by painting eggs and making bunny ears. On the big day, he excitedly looks for Easter eggs while his parents watch. The bold, rounded illustrations catch the eye, with a wide range of colors used throughout. The author pays a little lip service toward education by showing primary colors combining to create secondary colors, but the book's main focus is the exuberance that comes with celebrating the holiday, particularly when the traditions are so new and exciting. The enthusiasm is infectious, and read-alouds will most likely lead to little ones’ looking to do some arts and crafts of their very own.
As bright and bold as the holiday it celebrates. (Board book. 1-2)Pub Date: Feb. 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6319-3
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
Sounds like a winner, though the animal chorus is a bit thin.
Bunny hunts for carrots but finds noisy animal babies behind each flap instead.
“Bunny hops out of her burrow, / she’s looking for carrots to eat. / Can you help this fluffy friend / find a tasty treat?” The baaas, quacks, chirps, and horsey clip-clopping—activated by light as each of the first four big, shaped flaps lift—are gratifyingly loud and clear. All of the animal figures in the bright color pictures are intensely cute plush toys inserted into simple outdoorsy mixes of painted greenery and photographed flowers and bugs. Even the heaped carrots hiding behind the fifth and final flap are soft and fuzzy, though you’d never know that from the sound as Bunny hops on them (with a really loud boing) and chows down with crunches so comically amplified and rapid that caregivers too will laugh (at least the first dozen or so go-rounds). As no pressing of buttons is required to cue the sound effects, Bunny’s miniodyssey is suited to sharing at a slight remove with groups of toddlers as well as one-on-one. Batteries are replaceable, and there is (thankfully) an on-off switch on the rear cover.
Sounds like a winner, though the animal chorus is a bit thin. (Novelty board book. 18 mos.-2)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4654-7853-5
Page Count: 12
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
