Crawling babies will pause to enjoy this story again and again, and older toddlers, perhaps remembering their own crawling...
It may be hard to believe just eight words can make a complete and exciting story, but that’s all this board book needs.
Repeated reading of simple text is how children first learn to read. Kennedy seems to understand this and has created an ideal package for early success. A series of two word exclamations and expressive drawings combine to tell the story of a diaper-clad tot’s evolving relationship with a skeptical hound dog. “Go baby / go baby / go baby. // Go dog.” The baby crawling across a blue floor shows up clearly against a bright yellow wallpaper decorated with simple light blue flowers. The only additions to this pleasing design are a cushy blue chair the baby peers under (“Look baby”) when the dog disappears through a doorway leading to a room with light blue, diamond-patterned wallpaper. Baby’s cries bring the dog back. Spoiler alert: Baby and dog end up sound asleep, together: “Nice baby. / Good dog.” The simple repetitive text shows up clearly when placed against the yellow wall. The text set against the bottom blue stripe is yellow so it stands out boldly too. Baby has pale skin and red hair; dog is white with brown splotches.
Crawling babies will pause to enjoy this story again and again, and older toddlers, perhaps remembering their own crawling escapades, will want it read repeatedly too. They may even read it to their dogs. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: March 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-8075-2971-3
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.
This simplified version of Diesen and Hanna’s The Pout-Pout Fish (2008) is appropriate for babies and toddlers.
Brief, rhyming text tells the story of a sullen fish cheered up with a kiss. A little pink sea creature pokes his head out of a hole in the sea bottom to give the gloomy fish some advice: “Smile, Mr. Fish! / You look so down // With your glum-glum face / And your pout-pout frown.” He explains that there’s no reason to be worried, scared, sad or mad and concludes: “How about a smooch? / And a cheer-up wish? // Now you look happy: / What a smile, Mr. Fish!” Simple and sweet, this tale offers the lesson that sometimes, all that’s needed for a turnaround in mood is some cheer and encouragement to change our perspective. The clean, uncluttered illustrations are kept simple, except for the pout-pout fish’s features, which are delightfully expressive. Little ones will easily recognize and likely try to copy the sad, scared and angry looks that cross the fish’s face.
An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-374-37084-8
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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