Lots of love for librarians in these 22 pages—and plenty for toddlers to love, too.
The Tinyville Town series continues with a day in the life of Kevin the librarian.
In first-person narration, Kevin, who is white, states “I’m very good at answering questions,” as the sleeping form on the other side of the bed, slightly darker of skin, asks the first question of the morning via speech bubble: “What time is it?” During the morning commute, the Q-and-A continues as Kevin gives the various residents of Tinyville directions and bus information. While he’s on duty at the library information desk, Owen, a young brown-skinned patron, asks for books about elephants, but they are not on the shelf. Kevin and the youngster search the building until they finally find another library user sitting at a table enjoying the titles on pachyderms. Biggs’ pleasingly chunky cartoons, rendered with thick black lines and in bright hues against a white background, continue to be the star of this growing series. While this librarian’s job duties may be a little stereotypical and traditional (Kevin does little beyond reference work and shelving), Biggs has boiled down the librarian job description to the activities a toddler can relate to. Kevin ends the day reading in bed with the same companion, whose profile subtly hints that this librarian may be in a same-sex relationship.
Lots of love for librarians in these 22 pages—and plenty for toddlers to love, too. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2322-3
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The joys of counting combine with pretty art and homage to Goodnight Moon.
This bedtime book offers simple rhymes, celebrates the numbers one through 10, and encourages the counting of objects.
Each double-page spread shows a different toddler-and-caregiver pair, with careful attention to different skin tones, hair types, genders, and eye shapes. The pastel palette and soft, rounded contours of people and things add to the sleepy litany of the poems, beginning with “Goodnight, one fork. / Goodnight, one spoon. / Goodnight, one bowl. / I’ll see you soon.” With each number comes a different part in a toddler’s evening routine, including dinner, putting away toys, bathtime, and a bedtime story. The white backgrounds of the pages help to emphasize the bold representations of the numbers in both written and numerical forms. Each spread gives multiple opportunities to practice counting to its particular number; for example, the page for “four” includes four bottles of shampoo and four inlaid dots on a stool—beyond the four objects mentioned in the accompanying rhyme. Each home’s décor, and the array and types of toys and accoutrements within, shows a decidedly upscale, Western milieu. This seems compatible with the patronizing author’s note to adults, which accuses “the media” of indoctrinating children with fear of math “in our country.” Regardless, this sweet treatment of numbers and counting may be good prophylaxis against math phobia.
The joys of counting combine with pretty art and homage to Goodnight Moon. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-101-93378-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A gentle outing for children who are ready for stories of everyday life rather than just objects to name.
A brief rhyming board book for toddlers.
Spurr's earlier board books (In the Garden and At the Beach, both 2012; In the Woods, 2013) featured an adventuresome little boy. Her new slice-of-life story stars an equally joyful little girl who takes pleasure in flying a new kite while not venturing far off the walkway. Oliphant's expressive and light-filled watercolors clearly depict the child's emotions—eager excitement on the way to the park, delight at the kite's flight in the wind, shock when the kite breaks free, dejection, and finally relief and amazement. The rhymes work, though uneven syllable counts in some stanzas interrupt the smooth flow of the verse. The illustrations depict the child with her mass of windblown curls, brown skin, and pronounced facial features as African-American. Her guardian (presumably her mother) is also brown-skinned. It is refreshing to see an African-American family settled comfortably in a suburban setting with single-family homes and a park where the family dog does not need to be leashed.
A gentle outing for children who are ready for stories of everyday life rather than just objects to name. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-56145-854-7
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
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