Clear, uncluttered design makes this age-appropriate board book useful, especially for young fans of big machines.
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Clear nonfiction for the very young is hard to come by, and it appears that the Look & Learn series may finally be on...
An exploration of the human body through colorful photos.
Every other double-page spread labels the individual parts on one major area: head, torso, back, arm and leg. Ethnically diverse boy-girl pairs serve as models as arrows point to specific features and captions float nearby. While the book usefully mentions rarely depicted body parts, such as eyebrow, armpit and shin, some of the directional arrows are unclear. The arrow pointing at a girl’s shoulder hits her in the upper arm, and the belly button is hard is distinguish from the stomach (both are concealed by shirts). Facts about the human body (“Guess what? You have tiny hairs in your nose that keep out dirt”) appear on alternating spreads along with photos of kids in action. Baby Animals, another title in the Look & Learn series, uses an identical format to introduce readers to seal pups, leopard cubs, elephant calves, ducklings and tadpoles. In both titles, the final spread offers a review of the information and encourages readers to match baby animals to their parents or find body parts on a photo of kids jumping on a trampoline.
Clear nonfiction for the very young is hard to come by, and it appears that the Look & Learn series may finally be on the right track despite earlier titles that were much too conceptual for the audience. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4263-1483-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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