While the covers of both titles suggest lots of interaction, the pages within fail to deliver the goods.
An ode to various kinds of hugs as enacted by various animals.
The uncredited, rhymed text is mostly fluid, but the typeface changes radically from page to page and even word to word, making it difficult to scan. Each double- or single-page spread depicts a pair or group of animals engaged in a hug, some of which are more successful than others. While the mouse pair looks to be cozily hugging in Mantle’s cheerful, brightly colored cartoons, the group of birds on a wire don’t appear to be at all, and one member of the frog duo is attempting to escape the embrace of the other. Attached to the back cover are two arm-shaped flaps that flip around the entire book to illustrate a bear embracing its cub and simultaneously fasten the book with magnetic closures. While a pleasing gimmick, young browsers may be disappointed that it does not continue on the interior pages. Peek-a-boo!, the companion book, uses the same type of flaps on the cover to hide a bunny’s eyes. Inside, children are invited to play the titular game as a bear, a cat and a gorilla, among others, hide behind some object in their habitat and reveal themselves on the verso. While the text is playful, the typeface is, again, all over the place, and the turn-the-page peekaboo format is less successful than the lift-the-flap variety.
While the covers of both titles suggest lots of interaction, the pages within fail to deliver the goods. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: March 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58925-637-8
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Feb. 26, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead.
An Easter-themed board-book parody of the traditional nursery rhyme.
Unfortunately, this effort is just as sugary and uninspired as The Itsy Bitsy Snowman, offered by the same pair in 2015. A cheerful white bunny hops through a pastel world to distribute candy and treats for Easter but spills his baskets. A hedgehog, fox, mouse, and various birds come to the bunny’s rescue, retrieving the candy, helping to devise a distribution plan, and hiding the eggs. Then magically, they all fly off in a hot air balloon as the little animals in the village emerge to find the treats. Without any apparent purpose, the type changes color to highlight some words. For very young children every word is new, so highlighting “tiny tail” or “friends” makes no sense. Although the text is meant to be sung, the words don't quite fit the rhythm of the original song. Moreover, there are not clear motions to accompany the text; without the fingerplay movements, this book has none of the satisfying verve of the traditional version.
Leave the hopping to Peter Cottontail and sing the original song instead. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5621-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 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
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