Great fun for one-on-one sharing and a perfect toddler storytime selection.
A playful exploration of the body for the littlest learners.
This deceptively simple offering engages toddlers by asking them to participate in the fun by identifying various parts of their bodies and moving them about: “Touch your ears, make them wiggle. / Touch your belly, laugh and giggle. // Touch your mouth, open wide. / Touch your arms, wave side to side.” Periodically, the action is interrupted by a catalog of body parts in the form of a catchy refrain: “Mouth, ears, eyes, nose, // arms, belly, legs, / and ten tiny toes!” The brief, lyrical text, the opportunities for interactivity and the focus on a subject dear to toddlers’ hearts—themselves and all their glorious parts—make this a candidate for repeat readings. The illustrations feature a happy, shaggy-haired Caucasian toddler and his little teddy bear. The backgrounds are kept simple, focusing readers’ attention on the little one as he explores his body as the text directs. In a sweet conclusion, the toddler embraces his teddy, no body part to highlight here—only “a love that grows and grows.”
Great fun for one-on-one sharing and a perfect toddler storytime selection. (Board book. 3 mos.-3)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-53601-1
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While it’s nothing out of the ordinary, toddlers will gravitate to all the bells and whistles in this offering.
Little fingers can press buttons to hear various sounds, touch tactile elements, and see photos of everyday objects.
Each double-page spread highlights a different category of noisemaker, including animals, vehicles, and foodstuffs. The recto features a large photo of an animal or object that includes an embedded fabric swatch. When pressed, a button under the fabric activates a battery-operated sound chip safely screwed into the back of the book. Little digits have to hit the button just right to activate the noisemaker and may require adult help. On the toy-themed page, an image of a drum includes a vinyl patch, and when pressed, an adult voice says the word “drum” followed by a recording of a drum being played. The verso features brightly colored panels with clear, captioned photos of blocks, a white doll, a kite, and such. The text is standard fare, focusing on encouraging youngsters to interact with the book: “Touch the apple to hear it crunch!” Some of the tactile elements are more satisfying than others; the mewing kitten’s fur is nice and soft, but the duck’s feathers are difficult to “ruffle” as the text prompts. The book ends with a “Bedtime” spread complete with moon, pajamas, clock, and a teddy bear to touch, make snore, and play a music-box lullaby.
While it’s nothing out of the ordinary, toddlers will gravitate to all the bells and whistles in this offering. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)Pub Date: March 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-680105-41-4
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
Good-hearted fun—great for fans of Kit Feeny and Babymouse.
It’s a Bigfeet family reunion!
Everyone’s favorite frosty, furry cryptid, the yeti, actually has a name: Blizz Richards. From his supersecret HQ in Nepal he keeps in touch with his fellow cryptids, all of whom have sworn an oath to keep themselves hidden. That’s not always easy, especially when there are cryptozoologists, like the nasty (but bumbling) George Vanquist, who are always trying to expose the secretive creatures. Vanquist got a picture of Blizz’s cousin Brian near his home in British Columbia, causing the mortified Brian to disappear entirely. When Blizz receives an invitation to a Bigfeet family reunion in Canada, he calls his buddies Alexander (one of Santa’s elves), Gunthar (a goblin) and Frank the Arctic fox to help him get ready. When they arrive in Canada, Brian is still nowhere to be seen. Can Blizz and his skunk ape and other sasquatch cousins find Brian, have the reunion and evade Vanquist? If anyone can, the Bigfeet clan can. Illustrator Sherry’s first volume in the Yeti Files is a fast and funny graphic-prose tale full of labeled pictures and comic-style panels. Those just starting chapter books may have some trouble with a few big words, but they’ll enjoy the big friendly monsters and immediately ask for the next tale—which looks to be about the Loch Ness monster.
Good-hearted fun—great for fans of Kit Feeny and Babymouse. (Graphic/fantasy hybrid. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-55617-0
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
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