This quiet book is ideal for bedtime reading.
A young bunny finds a whole new world waiting outside her cozy burrow in this first book from the Baby Animal Tales series.
Worried she doesn’t have what it takes to be a “big bunny in the big outdoors,” young Bunny is afraid to leave the security of her burrow and see the world outside. Her friend, Mouse, points out her special strengths: a nose that sniffs, whiskers that twitch, and ears that listen. “You have everything you need to be a bunny,” Mouse says. With encouragement from her friend, Bunny wanders away from her comfortable burrow to explore new surroundings. As Bunny learns more about her world and her many capabilities, her confidence grows. When she comes nose to nose with a fox in the woods, she discovers just how well her running, bouncing, and jumping feet can also be used for thumping the ground and warning other bunnies of danger. “ ‘You see,’ said Mouse, proudly, ‘you are very good at being a bunny, after all.’ ” It’s a calming story, although a few word choices (burrow, tunnel) might need to be explained to the very young members of the audience. Chu’s watercolor-style illustrations of plants, bugs, and the friendly mouse appear throughout the story, with Winnel’s photographic images of the young protagonist collaged in. As a whole, the illustrations give the book a charming, vintage feel. Both the look and the quiet, encouraging storyline also appear in series companion Goodnight, Little Llama, which publishes simultaneously. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8.2-by-15-inch double-page spreads viewed at 75% of actual size.)
This quiet book is ideal for bedtime reading. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Feb. 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4840-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Magic Cat
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery.
A troop of cats traverse a spooky landscape as they make their way to a party hosted by ghosts.
Each double-page spread shows the felines’ encounters with the likes of an owl, jack-o’-lanterns or a bat. One or two of these creepy meetings may be too abstract for the youngest readers, as the cats hear eerie noises with no discernible source on the page. The text, which consists of one rhyming couplet per scene, mostly scans despite a couple of wobbles: “Five black cats get a bit of a scare / As the flip-flapping wings of a bat fill the air.” The sleek, slightly retro art, likely created using a computer, depicts the cats cavorting at night through a shadowy cityscape, the countryside and a haunted house; they may scare some toddlers and delight others. A brighter color palette would have given the project a friendlier, more universal appeal. Luckily, the well-lit, final party scene provides a playful conclusion.
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58925-611-8
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
Fun format; bland text.
A hefty board book filled with ruminations on the nature of love.
While love is the topic of this board book, it’s the inventive gatefolds and charmingly vintage illustrations that readers will fall for. Brimming with sweeping declarations along the lines of “Love is / strong. // You have my back and I’ll always have yours,” the text sounds like a series of greeting cards strung together. It’s benign enough, but are most toddlers interested in generic proclamations about love? Some statements, like the ones on “unsinkable” hippos or a panda parent holding a cub “steady,” could introduce new vocabulary. At least there’s plenty of winsome critters to fawn over as the surprisingly sturdy flaps tell dramatic little ministories for each cartoon-style animal species. A downcast baby giraffe looks longingly up at a too-high tasty branch; lift a flap to bring an adult giraffe—and the delicacy—down to the baby, or watch an adventurous young fox retreat into a fold-down–flap burrow to learn that “my heart will always be home with you.” At points, the pages are tricky to turn in the correct order, but clever touches, like a series of folds that slow readers down to a sloth’s speed, make up for it. The book concludes with a gatefold revealing a vibrant playground populated with racially and ethnically diverse humans; two are wheelchair users.
Fun format; bland text. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3153-2
Page Count: 84
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
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