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SEASHELL

Name: SEASHELL
Author: Amy Sky Koster
ISBN: 978-1-56846-354-4

by Amy Sky Koster ; illustrated by Lisel Jane Ashlock ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 2, 2021

Beautiful illustrations lack spark but will still make readers long to beachcomb.

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Crisp, meticulously accurate illustrations of shells pair with predictable rhyming couplets.

Locating a perfect, unbroken shell is one of life’s small delights, and this board book shares that sense of wonder. Opening on a child with tousled black hair listening to a seashell, the narrative drifts through various elegant, ink-drawn shells, from the crowd-pleasing “pearl shell” (a mussel) or “round shell” (a sand dollar) to the lesser-known “winged shell” (a piddock) or “spotted shell” (a junonia), before closing with a different child gazing at a hermit crab claiming its own shell. All children pictured have pale skin. The rhyming text, which incorporates the word shell in each two-word couplet, rolls smoothly enough off the tongue, but some information is lacking. There’s no context to explain the “lei shell” necklace in the key labelling the shells, and why have northern cowrie shells been designated “play shell[s]”? That same feeling of vagueness brings down the illustrations. While the naturalistic hues are luminous against spare white backgrounds, the precisely drawn shells seem untethered from sand or seashore. Decoratively arranged sprigs of seaweed surrounding the shells are attractive but static, making the shells feel like an artfully curated museum exhibit. Matte pages are lovely to touch but will bend easily, and the edges are sharp, suiting them for older children.

Beautiful illustrations lack spark but will still make readers long to beachcomb. (Board book. 2-4)

Pub Date: March 2, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-56846-354-4

Page Count: 18

Publisher: Creative Editions/Creative Company

Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
EGG
by Amy Sky Koster ; illustrated by Lisel Jane Ashlock

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OUT AND ABOUT

From the Spot the Difference series

by Sophia Danielsson-Waters ; illustrated by Sadie Thomas ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 11, 2017

A swell visual puzzle.

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Little readers tour the town.

This pleasant board book is all about the sights and sounds of a small, middle-class town. Little readers thumb through various street scenes, visiting the park, the beach, a train station, and more. Each scene offers a few visual puzzles for little ones. A giant high-heeled shoe blends in with the slides on the playground. An oversized piece of toast sits among the houses on a street. Readers are encouraged to spot what doesn’t belong as well as to count items, spot differences, trace fingers on paths, and more. Humans are absent from the busy photo collages, but a small teddy bear in blue overalls acts as guide, and other animals and birds (and a dinosaur) add further visual interest. A similar title, Building Site, is concurrently published and uses this same concept and visual style to tour a construction site; its guide is a toy figure with light-brown skin wearing a hard hat. Caregivers will find either book an excellent companion for car rides, doctor visits, and shopping trips.

A swell visual puzzle. (Board book. 2-4)

Pub Date: July 11, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-4654-5599-4

Page Count: 16

Publisher: DK Publishing

Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

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LET'S PLAY FOOTBALL

From the Let's Play series

by Nancy Hall ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 29, 2017

A passable introduction for little linebackers and half-pint halfbacks, but it will probably please football-enthusiast...

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Football basics for the littlest fans.

Each football-shaped page presents American football–related photos and one to two sentences of descriptive text. Many of the images are heavily labeled and captioned with football terminology, such as “end zone,” “helmet,” “cleats,” and “penalty flag.” One of the few double-page spreads presents a bird’s-eye view of the football field and labels such elements as “pylons,” “50-yard line,” and “1-yard hash marks.” It’s anyone’s guess what toddlers will make of the play diagram crowded with X’s, O’s, and arrows. In the photos, almost all the players, who have skin tones that range from white to black, look to be male. Just enough of the basic moves and plays of football are presented for youngsters, such as passing, catching, and kicking. As the book is football-shaped with faux leather cover and imitation laces, little ones may try to throw or kick the book itself. The project ends by encouraging would-be players to have fun and go play.

A passable introduction for little linebackers and half-pint halfbacks, but it will probably please football-enthusiast caregivers more than it will their children. (Board book. 2-3)