A pleasant introduction to the power in sticking together.
Animals discover they are not alone.
There’s strength in numbers in this board book. Each page features a single animal looking for some sort of assistance. When little readers lift the large flaps on the recto of each spread, the scene changes to a group of animals solving the problem. A lone prairie dog nervously confronts a snake but is then defended by his family once the flap is lifted. A baby crow hungrily spots a worm out of reach in a tree; it’s then lowered by her mother so she can eat it. The book ends with a brown-skinned baby alone in a living room, and the flap lifts to reveal loving dads (one white, one black), siblings, and grandparents. The illustrations are made of comfortably round lines and are bright with a primary-color palette that little readers are quite familiar with. There is value added with vocabulary that introduces the names of animal babies and collective names, where appropriate. This is likely to be overshadowed by the die-cut shapes in each lifting flap that, when closed, isolate the single animal that is depicted with its family underneath. These cutouts are quite detailed, including tails and individual toes, and although the pages are of sturdy stock, they are likely to fall victim to little fingers before long.
A pleasant introduction to the power in sticking together. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2538-8
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: Aug. 6, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
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
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
© Copyright 2025 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.
