Little Spotted Cat finds several diversions to forestall taking a nap: jumping, tangling yarn, drinking cool water and hopping with a grasshopper. After each incident and accident, he says, “Oh no! Meow! What will Mama Say?” The narrative verse feels forced and is more doggerel than kittenish. The oil illustrations favor a 1950s retro look overlaid with cartoonish shapes, making the cats look more like plush toys than animals. The odd delineations of the cats with fat-whiskers and jellybean noses miss being cuddly or sweet, and instead of having lots of spots, Little Cat’s head is symmetrically lined in half down his face, one side brown and the other buff. An old theme with a camp approach, but in spite of the colorful artwork, the appeal pales and the tale is stale. (Picture book. 2-4)
Pub Date: April 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-8037-2692-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2005
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Though slight, this story has compensatory interactive components and characters that are time-tested kid-pleasers.
Poor Mark the shark can’t make any friends because all the other fish are frightened of his teeth.
When a crab pinches Mark’s tail, Mark gets angry and yells for all the fish to come out: “If you won’t be my friends, then you’ll be my dinner!” At this, a concerned octopus reaches out to Mark, accidentally tickling him and making him laugh. When the other fish hear the shark laugh, they realize he’s not actually scary after all, and suddenly, Mark has lots of fishy friends. Each double-page spread has a slider, allowing readers to move the shark’s teeth up and down by pulling a tab, making him cry, chomp, and laugh. Companion volume Dino Chomp, also featuring big biting teeth operated by sliders, tells the story of a T. Rex tricked out of his dinner. Both titles suffer from flimsy plots and generic art, depending on the interactivity of the moving mouths to draw kids in. Considering how satisfying it is to make those teeth go chomp, chomp, chomp, though, it may be enough.
Though slight, this story has compensatory interactive components and characters that are time-tested kid-pleasers. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: June 2, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0107-1
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Simple and delightful—just like a rainbow.
How do colors make you feel?
A snail emerges from his flowerpot home amid a rainstorm. When the sun appears and the rain clears up, the snail spots a rainbow, boldly illustrated across the page. As the snail looks at it, he considers all the different hues: “What would it feel like to be VIOLET like a spring flower…or INDIGO like juicy blueberries…or BLUE like the raindrops?” With each new consideration, the outside edge of the snail’s shell, initially all black, turns to that color, pushing the previous hues inward. By the end, the snail’s shell is a matching rainbow, and he proudly declares, “Being all the colors of the rainbow is best! RED, ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE, INDIGO, and VIOLET! HOORAY!” The story is spare, but with the right storyteller, it will open countless conversations about colors, feelings, and descriptive words. The artwork supports the text with colorful, striking shapes on white backgrounds. For all the simplicity of the illustrations, the snail is surprisingly emotive, using googly-like eyes on the ends of its stalks to full effect. This tale will be equally at home shared during a large storytime or intimate lap read, and with both, it will be a welcome teaching tool. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Simple and delightful—just like a rainbow. (Concept picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: Feb. 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-914912-28-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boxer Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
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