Patient parents and cajoling caregivers everywhere will say yes to this one. Baby may still say no, but no matter. There’s...
The baby says no to everything…except ice cream!
The pictures tell the story in this board-book offering that highlights the antics of a noncompliant white toddler. The words are simple—until the very last page, the baby simply says “No.” “No” to relinquishing mom’s cellphone, to putting on any clothes other than a favorite bunny-rabbit suit, to dinner, to kisses from mom, to sharing, and more. Caregivers and children will immediately recognize themselves in these scenarios. For example, the retro-styled art depicts mom desperately trying to entice baby to wear a shirt with an ice cream cone on it, or a lion, or a lightning bolt, or a flying saucer. Baby simply holds up a hand, arm outstretched, oblivious to the mounting pile of clothes on the floor. When presented with various foods for dinner, baby’s faces of refusal are classic and hilarious. At the end, the family visits an ice cream truck, and baby finally says something aside from “No”: “YUMMY!” This isn’t a text that a caregiver can easily read to a little one, but the two can talk about what is happening in the pictures and how it might mirror their own experiences together.
Patient parents and cajoling caregivers everywhere will say yes to this one. Baby may still say no, but no matter. There’s always ice cream. (Board book. 2-5)Pub Date: April 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-76012-155-6
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
An inventive and extensive counting experience that will delight youngsters.
Shaped pages help youngsters count to 10 and beyond.
Two stylish double-page spreads are devoted to each number one through 10 and then, counting by 10s, to 100. In the first spread, the right-hand side is a page-high, die-cut numeral that spills off the page; to its left, a squirrel holds an acorn. With the turn of the page, there’s a transformation. “One acorn becomes… / one oak tree!” A portion of the object, animal or person being altered is visible through the die-cut openings; a sand castle peeks through the “0” of the number 10, for instance. Once the page is turned, the background from the previous left-hand page merges with the full double-page spread. As in the earlier Alphablock (2013), the helpfulness of these visual hints is uneven. After 10, 20 caterpillars become 20 butterflies, 30 baskets of cucumbers become 30 jars of pickles, and 40 eggs become 39 chicks and one dinosaur. The whole shebang ends with 100 puzzle pieces fitting together into “one big puzzle!” in the book’s only double gatefold. Peskimo’s muted color palette and droll cartoon style works well with the playful concept. The same worries about the binding that arose with Alphablock are an issue here, but the conceit will likely appeal to older children anyway.
An inventive and extensive counting experience that will delight youngsters. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4197-1374-3
Page Count: 94
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
Walsh’s latest finds her trademark mice exploring the mathematical concept of balance. With a stick and a rock, two mice make a teeter-totter and enjoy balancing…until a salamander wants to play and makes the weights uneven. Luckily, another joins him, and the teeter-totter is even again, a mouse and a salamander on each end. This pattern repeats with a pair of frogs. But then a single, large bird arrives, sending a few of the balancers catapulting into the air. The seven are able to achieve a tentative balance once again by stacking all the animals on one side and the bird on the other. But the precarious stack can’t last, and everyone hops, crawls or flies away to do something else…all but the mice, who balance once again. Fans will certainly recognize old friends in the mice, salamanders and frogs from previous outings. A white background makes the textures and bright colors in the author's cut-paper illustrations pop off the pages as well as making it easy for young readers to focus on the mathematical concept. Tips the scales in a subject area surprisingly lacking. (Picture book. 2-5)
Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0757-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2010
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