CRITTER COLORS

Name: CRITTER COLORS
Author: Ashley G.
ISBN: 978-1-4814-4218-3

by Ashley G. ; illustrated by Ashley G. ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 25, 2015

With so many excellent board books about color on the market, those with limited budgets can safely pass on this pale...

bookshelf

“What can you make out of colors?” is the question posed by this simple board book.

Red, yellow, blue, white, and black are introduced. Then each spread uses two of the basic colors to create a third color or tint, illustrated by an animal. Black plus white makes a gray kitten; white plus red makes a pink piglet, and so on, the second color from each combination becoming the first of the next after the turn of the page. The pictures tell the story without any wordy instruction. The colors are not bright; they are printed on a matte finish, and when combined, they are sometimes muddy. This affects the red/blue illustration the most. The purple octopus could have used more blue; it looks more burgundy than purple, which may not make the concept clear for very young children. Each animal is repeated in thumbnail against white on the last spread, which helps to mitigate the muddiness. Contrast can also be a problem. The word “yellow,” written in white on yellow, disappears into its background. The first and last spreads might be wasted space, decorated with splotches of colors in varying shades, unless parents or teachers use them as a pointing game.

With so many excellent board books about color on the market, those with limited budgets can safely pass on this pale contribution to the spectrum . (Board book. 18 mos.-4)

Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-4814-4218-3

Page Count: 28

Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
OUT OF SHAPES
by Ashley G. ; illustrated by Ashley G.

bookshelf

SPOOKY POOKIE

by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 7, 2015

A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.

bookshelf

One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.

It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.

A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: July 7, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5

Page Count: 18

Publisher: Robin Corey/Random

Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
A DANCE WITH SANTA CLAUS
by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton

- BOOK REVIEW
HIPPOS REMAIN CALM
by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton

- BOOK REVIEW
WOO HOO! YOU'RE DOING GREAT!
by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton

bookshelf

LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S SPRINGTIME

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 2, 2018

Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.

bookshelf

Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.

This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.

Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)