The latest Tractor Mac board book uses tractors, farm animals, and farm products to teach young children seven basic colors.
Naturally, to illustrate red, the color of Tractor Mac, the protagonist is presented, along with a rooster and barn. Likewise, yellow Carl and green Lucy take turns with other items that share their hues. Sadly, pink and brown are not tractor colors. No matter. Pink is illustrated with a pink radish, a rose, and a pig, while a potato, a goat, and a horse show off brown. A blue truck is shown towing Tractor Mac on a trailer, while orange excavator Doug does unrelated construction work. On the verso of each spread, smaller objects are clearly labeled against a corresponding solid color background. The recto displays the main text and the tractor (or substitute) against a white background. Every label and sentence starts with the name of a color and ends with a rhyme. For example, “Orange is a pumpkin. / Orange is a gourd. / Orange is Doug, who never gets bored.” Each of the machines, as well as the pig and horse, is given a name and assigned human traits. This personification is initially confusing but won’t bother fans of the series.
Clear, uncluttered design makes this age-appropriate board book useful, especially for young fans of big machines. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-374-30633-5
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS
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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
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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The favorite game of toddlers gets a dino twist.
A large dinosaur tries to outsmart a smaller companion when the duo play peekaboo together. The big dino naïvely believes they won’t be noticed behind or under sundry hiding places, but the little pal always finds their playmate. Young listeners will giggle as the large dino attempts to outwit the little one, but in vain; in every instance, the diminutive, overalls-clad dino calls out a triumphant “Peekaboo!” How come? Is it because thin tree trunks and a potted plant can’t conceal the large dino’s frame? Do the big dino’s bold, flower-print shirts stick out a mile? Even when the large dinosaur attempts an aerial hiding place, they discover that ruse doesn’t, ahem, fly, nor does hiding in a crowd wearing a Where’s Waldo?–esque red-striped cap and T-shirt do any good. In a display of good sportsmanship, the big dino concedes at the end the game was fun. The youngest audiences, all of whom will have likely engaged in marathon peekaboo sessions themselves, will undoubtedly scramble to play again. Besides stimulating playtime, this adorable board book, expressed in lilting rhymes, boosts vocabulary development through the use of some common prepositions (behind, in) and adverbs (here, there, everywhere). The illustrations are sweetly engaging; the round cutout on the front cover invites youngsters to play peekaboo games with adult partners and others. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Peek, and you’ll find a rollicking romp here. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-66592-840-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Boynton Bookworks
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
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