While nothing new, there is enough to engage celebratory tykes.
Rhyming text and playful art provide a list of all the qualities that make up “a Santa.”
“I’m seeking a Santa and everyone knows / Your eyes must be bright with red cheeks and red nose.” So begins the recounting of Santa’s aspects. Four elves (two white with blond and red hair respectively and two brown-skinned, with brown hair and freckles and black hair, respectively), cold-climate animals (including some evidently lost penguins), and other Christmas-y icons dramatize each of St. Nick’s qualities. The bold images pop with a retro, 1950s-advertising sensibility in poster-paint reds and greens. The rhymes scan with a pleasing rhythm. When Santa is finally shown, it is a very traditional representation of the bespectacled, old white elf in signature suit and hat. The companion title, Seeking a Witch, follows the same formula with various monsters, ghouls, and Halloween critters reciting a green-skinned, purple-haired witch’s attributes. While the reveals on the last double-page spreads are a little anticlimactic (they are both on the small side), these scenes make up for it in enthusiasm.
While nothing new, there is enough to engage celebratory tykes. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7674-4
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
A joyful celebration.
Families in a variety of configurations play, dance, and celebrate together.
The rhymed verse, based on a song from the Noodle Loaf children’s podcast, declares that “Families belong / Together like a puzzle / Different-sized people / One big snuggle.” The accompanying image shows an interracial couple of caregivers (one with brown skin and one pale) cuddling with a pajama-clad toddler with light brown skin and surrounded by two cats and a dog. Subsequent pages show a wide array of families with members of many different racial presentations engaging in bike and bus rides, indoor dance parties, and more. In some, readers see only one caregiver: a father or a grandparent, perhaps. One same-sex couple with two children in tow are expecting another child. Smart’s illustrations are playful and expressive, curating the most joyful moments of family life. The verse, punctuated by the word together, frequently set in oversized font, is gently inclusive at its best but may trip up readers with its irregular rhythms. The song that inspired the book can be found on the Noodle Loaf website.
A joyful celebration. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22276-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead.
An Easter-themed board-book parody of the traditional nursery rhyme.
Unfortunately, this effort is just as sugary and uninspired as The Itsy Bitsy Snowman, offered by the same pair in 2015. A cheerful white bunny hops through a pastel world to distribute candy and treats for Easter but spills his baskets. A hedgehog, fox, mouse, and various birds come to the bunny’s rescue, retrieving the candy, helping to devise a distribution plan, and hiding the eggs. Then magically, they all fly off in a hot air balloon as the little animals in the village emerge to find the treats. Without any apparent purpose, the type changes color to highlight some words. For very young children every word is new, so highlighting “tiny tail” or “friends” makes no sense. Although the text is meant to be sung, the words don't quite fit the rhythm of the original song. Moreover, there are not clear motions to accompany the text; without the fingerplay movements, this book has none of the satisfying verve of the traditional version.
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5621-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
