Little ones will enjoy meeting the professionals of Tinyville and seeing familiar faces across the series.
A vet gives readers a first-person account of a day at the animal clinic.
After feeding a menagerie of cats, dogs, and fish at home, Val, who is black, sets out on her bike to take care of the pets of Tinyville. Her first patient is firedog Flash (accompanied by firefighter Charlie, making a cameo). She checks the pup out and eventually removes a sock from her belly. Val returns home to her baby and her husband, who is also black and who appears to be a stay-at-home dad. The companion title, I’m a Firefighter, introduces Charlie, although he is never named here, the bushily mustachioed, white firefighter readers encountered in the previous book. When the alarm blares through the firehouse, Charlie, accompanied by three colleagues (multiethnic; one appears to be a woman), races to the firetruck with their Dalmatian. The crew puts out a fire at the town’s bakery, and the grateful baker, whom readers will likely meet in a future release, gives them armfuls of bread which they add to their firehouse supper. While a couple of details are a little inaccurate in the art (firefighters usually can’t sport bushy mustaches, and Val fails to pull her surgical mask over her nose), Biggs’ cheerfully chunky cartoon style, which employs a thick black line and bold colors against white backgrounds, is friendly and inviting. There is just enough text, with one to two sentences per page, to hold toddlers’ attention.
Little ones will enjoy meeting the professionals of Tinyville and seeing familiar faces across the series. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2135-9
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes.
A lift-the-flap book gives the littlest trick-or-treaters some practice identifying partygoers under their costumes.
Little Blue Truck and his buddy Toad are off to a party, and they invite readers (and a black cat) along for the ride: “ ‘Beep! Beep! Beep!’ / says Little Blue. / ‘It’s Halloween!’ / You come, too.” As they drive, they are surprised (and joined) by many of their friends in costume. “Who’s that in a tutu / striking a pose / up on the tiniest / tips of her toes? / Under the mask / who do you see?” Lifting the flap unmasks a friend: “ ‘Quack!’ says the duck. / ‘It’s me! It’s me!’ ” The sheep is disguised as a clown, the cow’s a queen, the pig’s a witch, the hen and her chick are pirates, and the horse is a dragon. Not to be left out, Little Blue has a costume, too. The flaps are large and sturdy, and enough of the animals’ characteristic features are visible under and around the costumes that little ones will be able to make successful guesses even on the first reading. Lovely curvy shapes and autumn colors fade to dusky blues as night falls, and children are sure to notice the traditional elements of a Halloween party: apple bobbing, lit jack-o’-lanterns, and punch and treats.
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-77253-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.
You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!
What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0534-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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