Despite the book’s design flaws, this offering featuring an expecting family of color is a welcome new arrival.
A toddler imagines all the different creatures and things that could be growing or hiding in Mummy’s pregnancy bump.
This trousers-wearing tyke with brown skin and short curly brown hair hugs Mummy and, in the gentle if uninspiring rhyming text, asks a string of questions about her belly: “Is it a watermelon? That would be funny! / Or is it a little jumping bunny!” The tot goes on to wonder with fanciful logic if the bump could be an odd assortment of things of wildly different shapes and sizes, including an elephant, some new toys, a lion, and a mouse. In the end, the youngster realizes that it must be a baby sister and a new playmate. Here the preschooler is joined by a pink-clad toddler girl with matching coloring and straight, brown hair. The art, consisting of highly stylized cartoons adorned with swaths of colors and occasional patterned designs, appears strangely cropped, as if the original, Chilean edition were a different trim size than this 6 ½-inch-square book. Key figures often appear at the edges of the pages, and readers never see the mother in toto.
Despite the book’s design flaws, this offering featuring an expecting family of color is a welcome new arrival. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: March 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-78285-976-5
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: May 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
An invitation for readers to learn through observation.
Llama Llama and Mama spot different shapes at the farmers market.
Dewdney’s iconic llama stars in this board book, a part of the Learning With Llama Llama series. The story showcases five shapes: rectangles, squares, triangles, circles, and stars. Rather than simply showing the shapes and naming them, illustrator Morrow embeds them inside scenes from the farmers market. Each page turn uncovers a different shape. Signage and a shopping bag pop as rectangles, while umbrellas, a slice of watermelon, and the peaks of the tents form triangles. Shapes that appeared on previous pages are visible even as the story progresses, and the final page helps readers revisit and recall shapes they’ve already found. There are plenty of engaging details to keep readers looking, including other animal shoppers, kite-flying, and sudden, surprising rain. The text is concise, and each spread features a simple question inviting participation. This title is more captivating than other shape concept books, especially those that show block-colored shapes without context. Llama Llama’s popularity will make this a hit with fans, and readers looking for substance will find it. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An invitation for readers to learn through observation. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-46509-7
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring in alphabetical order.
Each page displays an enormous capital letter, one line of verse with the keyword capitalized, and a loving nonhuman parent gazing adoringly at their baby. “A is for Always. I always love you more. / B is for Butterfly kisses. It’s you that I adore.” While not named or labelled as such, the A is also for an alligator and its hatchling and B is for a butterfly and a butterfly child (not a caterpillar—biology is not the aim of this title) interacting in some way with the said letter. For E there are an elephant and a calf; U features a unicorn and foal; and X, keyed to the last letter of the animal’s name, corresponds to a fox and three pups. The final double-page spread shows all the featured creatures and their babies as the last line declares: “Baby, I love you from A to Z!” The verse is standard fare and appropriately sentimental. The art is cartoony-cute and populated by suitably loving critters on solid backgrounds. Hearts accent each scene, but the theme of the project is never in any doubt.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2095-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
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.
