Fun and instructive, this forest frolic will have kids eager to play along.
In a hiding game led by Baby Fox, Papa Fox searches the forest for his little one but neglects to look in one obvious place.
Not finding his offspring indoors in their den, Papa Fox asks Mama where Baby might be, and she responds: “Why, Baby must be somewhere, Papa Fox.” Papa heads out to find Baby and looks in, over, under, down, up, and around, encountering owl, skunk, bear, mouse, toothy fish, and bull—but no Baby Fox. Disheartened, Papa says, “Mama Fox, I can’t find Baby anywhere.” She responds knowingly, “Have you looked behind you, Papa Fox?” Readers will have seen that Mama has been in on the joke all along if they noticed, early on, Mama waving goodbye to Baby, who is quietly following Papa as he sets off on his search. The text is entirely composed of dialogue in speech balloons. Graceful, finely sketched pen-and-pencil drawings, primarily in black and gray against a pale blue backdrop, complement this exercise in identifying prepositions. Kids will play along with Baby, easily spotting his pointy ears and rusty-orange body, which pops against the otherwise muted palette. Reunited with Papa, Baby Fox asks, “Can we do that again?”—encouraging multiple readings of this amusing story.
Fun and instructive, this forest frolic will have kids eager to play along. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7352-6498-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.
As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery.
A troop of cats traverse a spooky landscape as they make their way to a party hosted by ghosts.
Each double-page spread shows the felines’ encounters with the likes of an owl, jack-o’-lanterns or a bat. One or two of these creepy meetings may be too abstract for the youngest readers, as the cats hear eerie noises with no discernible source on the page. The text, which consists of one rhyming couplet per scene, mostly scans despite a couple of wobbles: “Five black cats get a bit of a scare / As the flip-flapping wings of a bat fill the air.” The sleek, slightly retro art, likely created using a computer, depicts the cats cavorting at night through a shadowy cityscape, the countryside and a haunted house; they may scare some toddlers and delight others. A brighter color palette would have given the project a friendlier, more universal appeal. Luckily, the well-lit, final party scene provides a playful conclusion.
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58925-611-8
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
© 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
