Local readers may love this, but others will probably want to give it a miss.
In this board book, Mullen (The Colors of Ancient Egypt, 2016) brings readers the vibrant colors of the vegetation and wildlife common to the Pacific Northwest: flowers, birds, animals, a fish, and a mushroom.
Each color is featured on a double-page spread, with the name of the color in capital letters and the capitalized name of the organism along with an illustration on one side and an additional, full-page image of the organism on the other. This book features unusual color pairings. Some of them may be more familiar, at least in broad strokes, to toddlers (silver coho salmon, green Douglas fir, white bald eagle, black bear), than others (red sapsucker, blue camas, brown pine marten, yellow chanterelle mushroom, pink bleeding heart). The digitally created illustrations are large, vibrant, and graphically stylized, with colorful patterned backgrounds. The unrealistic illustrations of chanterelles look like flowers in one view and yellow cupcakes in the other, and only the heads of the sapsucker and bald eagle are their respective colors, which may be confusing. This board book may be useful for young readers in that part of the country; however readers elsewhere may want to stick with such favorites as Tad Hills’ Colors! (2015), Divya Srinivasan’s Little Owl’s Colors (2015) and Simms Taback’s Colors (2009).
Local readers may love this, but others will probably want to give it a miss. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-938093-80-7
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Duo Press
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
A fun, utilitarian vocabulary builder that begs to be picked up and touched.
In the tradition of Pat the Bunny, this effort offers plenty of opportunity for tactile exploration.
Though it lacks the inventiveness, charm, and nontactile sensory provocations that make Pat the Bunny an enduring classic, this gives little hands plenty to grab, feel, touch, and experience. There are no “Paul and Judy” on hand to emulate, but the die-cut, fuzzy handprint in the middle of the thick, cardboard cover makes the book’s intent and methodology clear to its audience. So does the admonition, “Let’s Get Hands-on!” accompanying a photo of a little White child with fingers and palms covered in different colors of paint. The next page lists 10 different textures along with photographs of items that act as examples of each. Featured sensations are “fluffy, crinkly, smooth, bumpy, sticky, spongy, furry, rough, scratchy, [and] soft.” Each texture gets a two-page spread featuring several different items or creatures that feel that way and one large example with a die-cut hole and an embedded tactile element of the corresponding texture. The book features plenty of vocabulary, including three synonyms for each type of texture. There’s a descriptive sentence: “Fluffy things feel light and airy,” for example. Questions add an interactive element, inviting children to explore for themselves: “If you run your finger along something crinkly, what kind of noise does it make?”
A fun, utilitarian vocabulary builder that begs to be picked up and touched. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: March 23, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-68010-656-5
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An educational and uplifting foundation in financial mindsets and rules of thumb.
A walking, talking billfold of cash takes readers through the ins and outs of money.
Held together by a shiny gold clip and often accompanied by anthropomorphic coins, our narrator is a smiley, positive presence who eats pizza and rides a bike, just like us! Money explains its value as well as how to earn it (mowing lawns, selling lemonade), spend it, save it, and share it. The narrator uses clothing as a metaphor to explain different forms of money—sometimes the narrator dons “digital and crypto clothes,” though the author doesn’t elaborate on these. A similar reference to “credit card coats” is accompanied by a warning on overspending. Most commendable are reminders of readers' self-worth: Though readers are encouraged to invest in themselves, it’s made abundantly clear that money does not confer value to people. A message about earning interest is followed by a wordless page of coins and bills passing by a bank and a credit union—concepts that are a bit too advanced to describe in detail for this book’s audience. For now, tracking savings in a clear jar (not a piggy bank) is advanced enough. A guinea pig appears throughout the cheerful, textured art, making a suitably cute sidekick for the narrator.
An educational and uplifting foundation in financial mindsets and rules of thumb. (money tips) (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781728271262
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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