It's a shame that an examination of colors can feel so drab.
Chester Raccoon (The Kissing Hand, 1993) explores a rainbow of hues found in the great outdoors. Examples (red apple, brown caterpillar) are often small and difficult to discern against the wooded backdrop; the effort would benefit from a more dynamic design geared to the toddling set. Beginning and ending with the color white, the slight tale moves spread by spread through each featured hue. The name of each color is bolded within the text, but does not otherwise stand out from the rest of the black-on-white print. Each object is named within the verse, which often suffers from the necessity of making meter and rhyme. “School's Owl Teacher / Plays while she sings / ‘See the orange butterfly / Open its wings!’ ” A final call for audience participation falls flat. “You can play too! / You can play day or night. / Find Chester's colors / Beginning with WHITE.” Though the head-on view of Chester's friend Badger hunkered down to go eye to eye with the caterpillar is appealing, too often Chester's expression is fixedly cheerful, and the body language does not vary enough. Without developed visual characterization or effective demonstration of concept, it's best to kiss this one goodbye. (Board book. 1-3)
Pub Date: May 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-933718-58-3
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 29, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A pleasant enough interactive tool.
Little ones learn to make animal sounds.
A mouse wanders the barnyard and meets several different animals, telling each one, "I like to squeak. How do you speak?" When readers lift a flap, each animal makes its noise as an electronic voice box sounds off. The inside of the flap asks a rhyming set of questions, one providing prompts for verbal interaction and the second, physical: "Can you oink like a pig? Can you dance a silly jig?" The audio triggered by lifting the flaps is cute, but unfortunately the desired effect only works a handful of times, and the (replaceable) battery inside the book doesn't last very long. Nonetheless, the interactive parts of the book will entice little readers regardless of electronic stimuli, making this a solid addition to storytime. The illustrations are bright but otherwise unremarkable, and the animals are pretty common, but readings will surely be spiced up by prompts to take giant leaps or swish a tail and bow.
A pleasant enough interactive tool. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-68010-505-6
Page Count: 10
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
Sounds like a winner, though the animal chorus is a bit thin.
Bunny hunts for carrots but finds noisy animal babies behind each flap instead.
“Bunny hops out of her burrow, / she’s looking for carrots to eat. / Can you help this fluffy friend / find a tasty treat?” The baaas, quacks, chirps, and horsey clip-clopping—activated by light as each of the first four big, shaped flaps lift—are gratifyingly loud and clear. All of the animal figures in the bright color pictures are intensely cute plush toys inserted into simple outdoorsy mixes of painted greenery and photographed flowers and bugs. Even the heaped carrots hiding behind the fifth and final flap are soft and fuzzy, though you’d never know that from the sound as Bunny hops on them (with a really loud boing) and chows down with crunches so comically amplified and rapid that caregivers too will laugh (at least the first dozen or so go-rounds). As no pressing of buttons is required to cue the sound effects, Bunny’s miniodyssey is suited to sharing at a slight remove with groups of toddlers as well as one-on-one. Batteries are replaceable, and there is (thankfully) an on-off switch on the rear cover.
Sounds like a winner, though the animal chorus is a bit thin. (Novelty board book. 18 mos.-2)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4654-7853-5
Page Count: 12
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
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