As an aid to teach empathy and cooperation to the under-4 set, this is an excellent addition to a parent or caregiver’s...
A multiracial cast of self-directing toddlers play, problem-solve, share snacks, and yes, cry over spilt milk without any apparent adult intervention or assistance.
Grown-ups are featured only as they drop the kids off or pick them up. The rhyming text follows tots Bee (a little black girl) and Billy (a little white boy) through various crises along with the other denizens of this diaper derby. “Someone’s got the tractor, / It’s little Baby Boo! / Bee shouts, / ‘MINE!’ / Then Baby cries, / Baby wants it, / too.” The verses’ length vary from a compact four-line stanza to a monumental 13-line opus. Some rhymes just beg to be read aloud with a mouth full of crackers. “Baby’s giggly, / smiley, dribbly, / Happy once again.” Tobia’s illustrations, created with pencil, ink, and digital media, are warmly and loudly evocative of fellow Briton Helen Oxenbury’s board books. The faces are round, the fingers are chubby, and the pajama-clad bottoms are amply padded. Bright colors enliven each boisterous scene. As an introduction to the nursery school/day care experience, Hart’s unnecessarily wordy story wades in midstream. As the children appear to know the routine as soon as they cross the threshold despite Billy’s moment of shyness, this assumes readers do, too.
As an aid to teach empathy and cooperation to the under-4 set, this is an excellent addition to a parent or caregiver’s bookshelf. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-61067-581-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Young dino fans will enjoy it, though their grown-ups may not.
What sounds did dinosaurs make? We don't really know.
Litton suggests some possibilities while introducing sophisticated vocabulary in a board-book format. Five dinosaurs are featured: Tyrannosaurus rex, Stegosaurus, Pterodactyl, Diplodocus, and Triceratops. For each species there is a brief description that highlights its distinctive features, followed by an invitation to hear and repeat the dinosaur's sound. There is no explanation for why scientists think T. Rex “roared,” Stegosaurus “howled,” Pterodactyl “screeched,” Diplodocus “growled,” or Triceratops “grunted.” The author tries to avoid sexism, carefully referring to two of the creatures as “she,” but those two are also described in stereotypically less-ferocious terms than the male dinos. The touch point on the Pterodactyl is a soft section of wing. Readers are told that Diplodocus “loved splashing in swamps,” and the instruction is to “tickle her tummy to hear her growl,” implying that this giant creature was gentle and friendly. None of this may matter to young paleontologists, who will enjoy finding the tactile section on each creature that triggers the sound. Despite extensive directions in small print, most parents and libraries won't bother to change the battery secured by a tiny hex screw, but while the battery lasts, the book will get lots of play.
Young dino fans will enjoy it, though their grown-ups may not. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-58925-207-3
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.
As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
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BOOK REVIEW
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