A delightful addition to the new-baby shelf.
Cats Minouche, Pasha, and Amir share a home with Myriam and Sami, who are expecting a new baby.
Black Pasha looks serious and “regal”; gray tiger Minouche is shy, possibly because she was rescued from the streets; and Siamese Amir is interested in everything. They play and lounge around all day in the rooms and around the courtyard of the traditional Arab house where they live. Middle Eastern design is ambient around them, in furniture, decorations, and the family’s clothes. Slowly, the cats’ favorite place to snuggle, Myriam’s belly, starts to expand. One day, it even moves! After their guardians disappear for a few days and come back with a pretty basket, the three cats are super curious. What could be inside? In one particularly comical spread, a curious Amir stands on the head of a grumpy-looking Minouche, trying to peer through the keyhole into the room where Myriam has taken the basket. When the door is finally opened, a close-up painting of the pets looking dubiously at two pudgy feet clearly communicates how they are feeling about the newcomer. Grandma reassures them: “Say hello to Alya.…Myriam will take care of you and the baby too. To love is to share.” The cats remain nervous but eventually grow “calm and confident again,” and even find new pastimes that include the baby in their “life full of love and tenderness.”
A delightful addition to the new-baby shelf. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-2-89802-236-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: CrackBoom! Books
Review Posted Online: May 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
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
A satisfying friendship story to share with very young children in the days leading up to Halloween.
This board book twists the traditional “Teeny Tiny” tale into a less-scary Halloween treat.
This version uses a singsong-y rhythm and cadence to tell the story. “In the teeny tiny barn / Of a teeny tiny house... / Lived a teeny tiny ghost / and a teeny tiny mouse.” Of course the ghost (being teeny tiny) is not very frightening. “But the determined little ghost / Let her mighty courage through / And with a teeny tiny breath / She said a teeny tiny: boo.” Spoiler alert: After just seven page turns the ghost and mouse become friends: “And now the teeny tinies play / In the teeny tiny house. / Just a teeny tiny ghost / And her best friend, mouse.” Pumpkins decorate the cover and final spread and illustrations throughout are in autumnal hues. The fairly high-for-the-format word count—19 to 21 words per page—may be more than toddlers will sit still for, but the “teeny tiny” repetition and rhymes will help. The size (just 6 inches square) makes using the book with a group a challenge, but with a lap-sitting child, it’ll be a pleasure.
A satisfying friendship story to share with very young children in the days leading up to Halloween. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 30, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-31848-7
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
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