Nostalgic fun for adults but likely less useful to kids.
Old-school rap and hip-hop name checking abounds in author/illustrator Darling’s alphabet concept book.
We’ve all seen alphabet books where D is for dog, but what if D was for “DJ,” “Drum Machine,” or “De La Soul” instead? Loaded with references to artists from the 1980s and ’90s, this book offers an alternative to other abecedarian works. The realistic illustrations are done in an appropriately retro collage style, with vintage-looking images overlaid on boldly hued and patterned backgrounds. Some references are clever, such as a child using a hammer on a “Hammer Time” sign; others are just odd, such as Kurtis Blow’s name on a kite, and a few exclusions are questionable (Q shows a quarter but not Queen Latifah?). Most objects will be familiar to kids, but several outmoded items may require adult explanation (a Polaroid camera, a VHS tape), and occasional objects are listed by their adjective instead of their noun: “Electric Guitar” and “Bass Guitar” are categorized under E and B respectively, in addition to “Guitar” for G. (There’s also a distracting error: a magnet is labeled “Mouth.”) Ultimately, it’s difficult to see a great deal of educational value in this book—the words have no text definitions, and the named figures receive no explanations—but grown-ups may reminisce about the old days.
Nostalgic fun for adults but likely less useful to kids.Pub Date: June 7, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5149-9006-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Laughing Elephant
Review Posted Online: Sept. 7, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A cheery board book to reinforce the oneness of babykind.
Ten babies in 10 countries greet friends in almost 10 languages.
Countries of origin are subtly identified. For example, on the first spread, NYC is emblazoned on a blond, white baby’s hat as well as a brown baby’s scoot-car taxi. On the next spread, “Mexico City” is written on a light brown toddler’s bike. A flag in each illustration provides another hint. However, the languages are not named, so on first reading, the fine but important differences between Spanish and Portuguese are easily missed. This is also a problem on pages showing transliterated Arabic from Cairo and Afrikaans from Cape Town. Similarly, Chinese and Japanese are transliterated, without use of traditional hànzì or kanji characters. British English is treated as a separate language, though it is, after all, still English. French (spoken by 67 million people) is included, but German, Russian, and Hindi (spoken by 101 million, 145 million, and 370 million respectively) are not. English translations are included in a slightly smaller font. This world survey comes full circle, ending in San Francisco with a beige baby sleeping in an equally beige parent’s arms. The message of diversity is reinforced by images of three babies—one light brown, one medium brown, one white—in windows on the final spread.
A cheery board book to reinforce the oneness of babykind. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-938093-87-6
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Duo Press
Review Posted Online: April 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Don’t judge this book by its cover; there’s an unusual concept and whimsical illustrations hiding underneath
A series of solid shapes substitute for natural objects in this board book that is somewhere between concept book and riddle game.
What’s that shape supposed to be? Running across a rust-brown labeled triangle, amid trees and elk, the text “Climb a TRIANGLE to the top” suggests the shape is a mountain; in an ocean scene with a red “STAR washed in on the waves,” the shape implies a sea star. Ample visual cues give young readers enough context to guess what the shape evokes, with some unexpected touches, such as “HEXAGON” printed on hexagonal honeycombs buzzing with bees and surrounded by golden flowers. Short, commanding sentences keep things humming, but with only six shapes covered, the book feels all too brief. Illustrator Devernay combines delicate pencil line drawings and sketchy gray-black shading with tiny, meticulously cut colored-paper collage to create her plants and animals. The most intimate drawings amaze. Close-ups of smooth stones are so appealing that readers will long to pick one up and “rub a smooth OVAL between thumb and finger.” Sadly, the cover doesn’t do the interior justice, and things get murky when several hues mix there and on the final spread. But on other spreads, where there’s a single color, it pops against the gray, such as the minute yellow beaks on the flock of charcoal birds circling the yellow “CIRCLE” sun.
Don’t judge this book by its cover; there’s an unusual concept and whimsical illustrations hiding underneath . (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: March 13, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-56846-317-9
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Creative Editions/Creative Company
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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