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...

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“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.

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ANIMAL SHAPES

by Christopher Silas Neal ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 27, 2018

Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
CREEP, LEAP, CRUNCH! A FOOD CHAIN STORY
by Jody Jensen Shaffer ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal

- BOOK REVIEW
ALL’S RIGHT WITH THE WORLD
by Jennifer Adams ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal

- BOOK REVIEW
OVER AND UNDER THE WAVES
by Kate Messner ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal

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A KISSING HAND FOR CHESTER RACCOON

From the Kissing Hand series

by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2014

Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...

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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)