Various vehicles transform from tiny to gigantic with the turn of folded pages.
“Is this a little tractor? OR…” reads the blocky text written on the verso. Across the page, much of which is hidden by a half accordion-fold, readers see an image of a graphically simple, small tractor on a white background. A pull on the fold reveals the full image of “a big harvester” loading bales of hay. This pattern of vehicular transformation is repeated nine more times and includes a houseboat morphing into cargo ship, a “pint-sized” camper growing to become a large cement-mixer, and a “puny U.F.O.” expanding to “the mothership.” Baruzzi uses curved lines and flat planes in highly saturated colors, including pink and turquoise, two colors that are rarely seen in toddler transportation titles, to create vehicles both droll and impressive. While the folds are sturdy enough to withstand robust readers, the pages themselves are of thinner stock than what is typically found in standard board books.
Sprightly fun for the youngest transportation enthusiasts. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-988-8341-50-4
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Minedition
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS
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Little ones are taught their ABCs with Christmas iconography.
A CAT nibbles on a candy cane, and FOXES sing holiday carols, while LANTERNS glow and ORNAMENTS sparkle on festive trees. Christmas is in the air, and so are the letters of the alphabet. Each letter gets a corresponding Christmas illustration, charmingly colored and cozily composed. The easily read text beneath each picture forms rhyming couplets (“GEESE with gumdrops stacked up tall. / HOME is where we deck the halls”), with the key word set in all caps. The imagery mixes spiritual and secular icons side by side: there are baby JESUS, SANTA, the “Three kind KINGS,” and (a little mystifyingly) “UNICORNS donning underwear.” The warm color palette draws little readers in, and the illustrations have a gingerbread-cookie aesthetic, though there is no real attempt to include Christmas traditions such as luminaria from nondominant cultures. The picture that groups a stereotypical Eskimo, an igloo, and some penguins will madden many readers on both cultural and geographical fronts.
A sweet but standard-issue Christmas read. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7624-6125-7
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS
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Animal parents declare their love for their offspring in alphabetical order.
Each page displays an enormous capital letter, one line of verse with the keyword capitalized, and a loving nonhuman parent gazing adoringly at their baby. “A is for Always. I always love you more. / B is for Butterfly kisses. It’s you that I adore.” While not named or labelled as such, the A is also for an alligator and its hatchling and B is for a butterfly and a butterfly child (not a caterpillar—biology is not the aim of this title) interacting in some way with the said letter. For E there are an elephant and a calf; U features a unicorn and foal; and X, keyed to the last letter of the animal’s name, corresponds to a fox and three pups. The final double-page spread shows all the featured creatures and their babies as the last line declares: “Baby, I love you from A to Z!” The verse is standard fare and appropriately sentimental. The art is cartoony-cute and populated by suitably loving critters on solid backgrounds. Hearts accent each scene, but the theme of the project is never in any doubt.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2095-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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