A cozy declaration of independence—with a caveat that’s not just for toddlers.
The roly-poly panda of Chengdu Could Not, Would Not, Fall Asleep (2014) wakes up hungry.
Just like a toddler, Chengdu can do a lot of things “all by himself.” He can get down from his branch, jump, push and pull, climb, swing back and forth, even fly—almost. So he demonstrates in the soft-focus illustrations, though his efforts to get to the bamboo fronds that hang tantalizingly just out of reach are frustrated again and again. As in Chengdu’s first outing, Saltzberg uses artful page turns, gatefolds, and half pages to endow his grave-looking panda’s patient quest for breakfast with action and humor. Yes, Chengdu does a lot all by himself, but for some tasks, such as bending down a bamboo stalk, “there are times when Chengdu can… / use a little help.” Enter a pair of pandas, one of parental size, to lend a paw. With a narrative text that extends to just nine sentences, the book depends on the design to pace readers. Manipulating the various gatefolds slows them down to panda speed, resulting in a satisfying read-aloud.
A cozy declaration of independence—with a caveat that’s not just for toddlers. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: July 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4847-5847-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
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)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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