Bland in comparison to the exuberant likes of Anne Sibley O’Brien and Susan Gal’s Abracadabra, It’s Spring! (2016) or Karen...
Sammy the cat takes a stroll outside with his stuffed horse, Hob, to admire springtime sights.
First Sammy puts on his shoes and socks, then ventures out to ride and walk over grassy knolls sprinkled with small flowers as birds and bunnies look on. He rides a succession of vehicles from a (pink) bicycle (sans helmet) to a “nice tractor,” gently wakes a family of sleeping hedgehogs, goes on to plant garden seedlings, then returns home for dinner. The simply phrased narrative and bright, sunny domestic and outdoor scenes are printed on card stock with rounded corners. Each double-page spread is also furnished with half-page flaps that conceal not twists or surprises but simply predictable next moments in the outing. There is one minor bobble (probably a glitch in the uncredited translation from the original Dutch): For “dinner” Sammy “eats tomatoes, cucumber and bread,” which U.S. readers are likely to feel sounds a lot more like “lunch” or “snack” and which omits the slice of Swiss cheese that’s clearly visible on the bread. Nevertheless, this offers no real stumbling block to enjoyment of the seasonally themed ramble.
Bland in comparison to the exuberant likes of Anne Sibley O’Brien and Susan Gal’s Abracadabra, It’s Spring! (2016) or Karen Katz’s Baby Loves Spring (2012), but sometimes that’s just the ticket. (Picture book/novelty. 2-4)Pub Date: March 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-60537-367-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clavis
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.
You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!
What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0534-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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Good for a giggle from preschool readers despite its slight imperfections.
A brightly illustrated story told in rhyme about mixed-up robots getting ready for the day.
Holub and Dickason team up for another title echoing the style of their similarly formatted Hello Knights! and Hello Ninjas! (both 2018). Here, the titular robots are having trouble getting ready for the day. They put socks on top of shoes and even forget how to eat their cereal, pouring milk on their heads and flipping their bowls upside down on the table. The confusion comes to a climax in a double gatefold in which the robots realize that they need a reboot, correcting their routines. Young readers will delight in the silliness: underpants on heads, bathing in clothes. Holub’s rhyming text works well for the most part and includes some charming turns of phrase, such as “brushing bolts” in place of brushing teeth. Dickason’s illustrations use a consistent palette of mostly primary colors and feature 1960s-style robots drawn with antennae, motherboards on boxy chests, and wheels for feet. The pages are busy and packed, allowing for new discoveries upon each read, though this busyness argues for use with older toddlers. It’s not entirely clear where the robots are headed (school?) or whether or not they’re also ETs (they fly away on a spaceship), but the story is fun enough to overlook those muddled details.
Good for a giggle from preschool readers despite its slight imperfections. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-1871-4
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
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