Sheer joy.
This book and its companions explore the joys of performance art, toddler style.
Featuring a multiethnic group of toddlers as well as some toddlers wearing glasses and one who uses a wheelchair, the book celebrates the sheer exhilaration of imagination during toddlerhood. The colorful mixed-media illustrations place the children against a white background, giving them center stage. The accompanying text exudes the same playfulness and vitality as the drawings, begging to be read aloud and always ending with an enthusiastic “I’m amazing!” Performing on all kinds of improvised instruments from pots to bottles filled with rattly things, the children have a blast: “I’ve got a drum, as round as my tum. / BANG! BA-da-BOOM! BA-da-BOOM, Bang…BUM!” In companion title Dance! “Hands go CLAP! / Feet go TAP!” Young readers will be moved to do the same. In Dressing Up! the children explore a box filled with wondrous objects ready to become anything a toddler can imagine, the onomatopoeic text giving clues to their creations. And proving that singing can be done anywhere, in Sing! children sing while swinging, sitting on the potty, or splashing in the bathtub. “Sing loud, out LOUD! / Sing LOUDER! / I’m amazing!” Pair these with Annie Kubler’s Nursery Time board books.
Sheer joy. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-84643-961-2
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Child's Play
Review Posted Online: May 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
A welcome addition to the toddler bookshelf.
Leo is back (Leo Loves Baby Time, 2014, etc.), and now he happily attends a community swim class with Daddy.
“Leo loves the water. He is like a little fish!” A smiling Leo is in sudsy bath water, his dark, curly head and brown body held up by a pair of strong, brown, adult arms. As the story continues, readers see Leo and Daddy interact lovingly throughout, from sitting together on a big chair—viewing a swim-class brochure—to changing into proper swim attire in the locker room and taking part in a class that features a pool full of other happy baby-and-adult pairs. The range of skin and hair types is commendable, even including one adult-child combination of nonmatching skin. Getting used to the off-center noses of the babies requires a little time—probably more for adults than children. The text has some sentences that will sound delightful to little ears as little eyes view the water babies: “They swish and swoosh. They splish and sploosh.” The tender and competent care given to Leo by his father is reason enough to praise this book. Also, like its predecessor, the codex itself has rounded corners and strong, resilient paper to accommodate its audience. The ending is a bit abrupt, but it parallels babies’ and toddlers’ tendencies to play hard and suddenly run out of energy.
A welcome addition to the toddler bookshelf. (Picture book. 1-3)Pub Date: May 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-58089-725-9
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2016
A simple but action-packed story for the littlest ballplayers.
A toddler enjoys a family baseball game and explains baseball basics.
The focus of the first-person narrative is the titular tot, a Black child with short hair wearing a pin-striped shirt and blue baseball cap (those who aren’t Yankee fans may not appreciate the look). The other players, all members of the same Black family, include an older, gray-haired “coach,” a pink-clad kid with hair in a topknot Afro puff, a goatee’d grown-up, and a ponytailed adult. Together they play a robust game of what is actually T-ball—a bit easier for the preschool set to emulate. The action includes practice throws, catching fly balls, batting, and even a home run to finish the game. The narrative consists of gentle rhyming verse, slightly forced to accommodate all the baseball vocabulary: “Up it flies. / The outfield chases. / I drop my bat / and run the bases.” Various critters, including a bird, an earthworm, and a bunny, can be seen cheering on the players. The boldly colored cartoon figures stand out well against the softer, more muted landscapes. The outing ends with the little baseball player tucked into bed, still wearing “my lucky hat.”
A simple but action-packed story for the littlest ballplayers. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-20243-2
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
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