These babies' faces display full-on reactions.
A variety of quirkily drawn, multiethnic babies, their vastly oversized heads often displaying two-toothed gaping mouths, enthusiastically respond to the environment around them. A few of the pairings are complementary: "yum-yum!" appears opposite "yucky!" (Nutrition mavens will sigh to see that "yucky" is provoked by green vegetables.) Some are more action-driven than strictly emotional or responsive. “Kiss!” depicts a youngster giving a loving smooch to her stuffed blue teddy. Sometimes a catalyst for the displayed emotion is unclear. “Boo-hoo!” depicts a ball directly behind a little girl, but why this produces tears is a mystery. At other times, though, a depicted object (a broken car, a diaper pail) has a clear relationship to a baby's response. Companion Baby Babble serves as a picture dictionary for the youngest set with familiar objects labeled in thematic spreads. Though not strictly board books, these seemingly flimsy paper books resist tearing and, according to the publisher, are washable.
A more-or-less effective introduction to the ever-important subject of emotional literacy. (Board book. 3 mos.-2)Pub Date: June 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7611-6881-2
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS
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How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 12, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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