Gentle words and softly painted illustrations convey the pleasures of autumn for the very young.
A young fox delights in the coming of autumn.
“Here comes fall. The parade is about to start!” Accompanied by a parent, the little fox looks on eagerly. On each following spread, the fox joyfully observes other animals gathering to celebrate the harbingers of fall, from the “first sunflower” to “plump orange pumpkins” and, eventually, “the first golden leaf, dancing as it falls.” The phrase “Here comes,” which appears on almost every spread, builds anticipation with each page turn as readers wonder what new animal or plant will show up next. Howard’s brushwork, with its vibrant oranges, blues, and yellows, beautifully captures the season’s energy and the animals’ soft fur. It’s refreshing to see animals as disparate as badgers, spiders, and a hedgehog included. Little ones and their caregivers will enjoy poring over the pages as they linger over each animal and learn their names. The simple story ends with all the animals joining in a glorious tumble in the “soft piles of fallen leaves.” This satisfying conclusion is complemented by cozy endpapers with smaller images of the fox immersed in activities such as cavorting with a butterfly and snuggling with its parent.
Gentle words and softly painted illustrations convey the pleasures of autumn for the very young. (Picture book. 1-5)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9781949480443
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cameron Kids
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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