Feels like a party, and you'll want to jump in.
A rhyming picture book celebrates pool time.
An ensemble of nameless children enjoys a cheerful outing at a public pool. Using compact couplets, the text describes their activities—belly-flopping, gliding underwater, sunbathing on the deck, and more. It also captures the sights, sounds, and sensations of the experience, such as “FINGERS PRUNED” and the “SUN-KISSED GLOW” that follows a long swim. Illustrations showing kids having all sorts of fun in the rippling blue water, using animal floaties, and eating Popsicles invite interest in what, to some young readers, might be an unfamiliar place. A class sensibility seems to be at work since the artwork portrays a swimming facility with bountiful equipment and tropical deck plants—a far cry from most public pools. Excellent vocabulary-building opportunities present in the brief text (cannonball and marooned, to name a few), which also offers plenty of chances to act out scenes and have conversations about water safety. The colorful illustrations take pleasing turns with full-bleed double-page spreads, continuous narrative art, and spot-art close-ups. Adults are only present to pick up the kids at the end of the party, there are no squabbles, and no Band-Aids are needed. Children are depicted with a range of skin tones and hair colors, and some are taller than others; but all are able-bodied, which is a missed chance to help disabled kids see themselves in such a setting.
Feels like a party, and you'll want to jump in. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-951836-41-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cameron + Company
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022
For Boomers, a nostalgic trip back to their diaper-clad days, and if not exactly multicultural (despite some song lyrics in...
Despite the art’s distinctly retro look and coloring, the five Golden Books in this gathering—four complete, one excerpted—only rarely come off as period pieces.
Lap-sitters and lap-providers alike will enjoy following a delighted-looking preschooler who is credibly ambiguous of gender, though to judge from the visible toys and furniture, probably originally intended to be a girl. She takes them on a tour of Baby’s House (1950, written by Gelolo McHugh) before moving on to Ruth Krauss’s hymn to empowerment I Can Fly (1950), the concept-driven Up and Down Book (1964), the contemporary nursery rhymes of Miriam Clark Potter in The Golden Book of Little Verses (1953) and the 21 standard folk songs and singing games selected from The New Golden Song Book (1955). All but the last two titles are published here for the first time in a large format. Though Blair’s modernist illustrations display stylistic changes over the years, they make the transition in size without losing their bright colors and sharply defined figures. Furthermore, her fondness for floating children, familiar pets or farm animals and isolated details in open-bordered compositions adds timeless, energetic visual rhythms, even to bedtime scenes.
For Boomers, a nostalgic trip back to their diaper-clad days, and if not exactly multicultural (despite some song lyrics in German and French), still enjoyable for today's young children. (introduction) (Picture book collection. 3-5, adult)Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-375-87044-6
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Golden Books/Random
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A regrettably awkward introduction to yoga.
When a yogi moves in next door, Emily learns enough to help him when he gets stuck.
Emily wonders why her new neighbor, Albert, “twist[s] himself into all kinds of strange positions on his front lawn.” He tells her about yoga and the mantra “om,” explaining, “It’s a magic word that everything understands….It helps me feel quiet and relaxed.” Emily tries it for herself but doesn’t fully realize its power until she helps Albert when he gets “stuck.” While this could be read figuratively, illustrations show Albert as literally “all twisted up,” with his legs and arms like twisted taffy and sweat beads on his face. This seems to poke fun, as does the “Dude! You’re totally stuck!” offered by a passing lifeguard. He and others try to help and struggle to figure out what Albert means when he moans “O…!” Nothing helps—not the phone suggested by the lifeguard, the garden gnome a police officer brings nor the poem of the librarian. There’s an odd dissonance in the humor—Albert seems to be genuinely suffering, and the others’ buffoonery, however well-intentioned, seems ill-placed. Once Emily steps in and says, “Ommmmmm,” Albert relaxes, and his arms and legs come “unstuck.” This inspires everyone to say “om” and use relaxation and yoga when they get stuck—figuratively or otherwise.
A regrettably awkward introduction to yoga. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-897476-35-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simply Read
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2014
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