There is just too much going on here to make it suitable bedtime fare.
Mama Hen struggles to put her trio of Tough Chicks to bed on the farm.
Mama points to the examples set by the other farm residents, such as the sheep, the horses, and pigs, all hunkering down for the night, and encourages her offspring to follow suit. Tabbed pages with small images of each critter allow little ones to easily turn the board pages. A tactile element is embedded on each page for sensory exploration, such as the chicks’ satiny pillow, embossed paper connoting the breeze blowing through the barn, and the fleece of the sheep. Molly, one of the rambunctious chicks, succeeds in waking up all the dozing farm residents, much to her mother’s chagrin, but Mama eventually gently coaxes the little ones into their bed made of out hay in a sequence that plays out on a gatefold page. On almost every recto, a gray mouse suggests calming actions related to the story that sleepless toddler readers can try: “How many sheep can you count before you fall asleep?” While the animals’ expressions are playfully droll and the palette soothing, Suber’s art is too busy, with stylized and patterned backgrounds that don’t always flow well together. With all the sensory elements and gimmicks at play, it’s no wonder the chicks can’t get to sleep.
There is just too much going on here to make it suitable bedtime fare. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-358-34299-1
Page Count: 12
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring in alphabetical order.
Each page displays an enormous capital letter, one line of verse with the keyword capitalized, and a loving nonhuman parent gazing adoringly at their baby. “A is for Always. I always love you more. / B is for Butterfly kisses. It’s you that I adore.” While not named or labelled as such, the A is also for an alligator and its hatchling and B is for a butterfly and a butterfly child (not a caterpillar—biology is not the aim of this title) interacting in some way with the said letter. For E there are an elephant and a calf; U features a unicorn and foal; and X, keyed to the last letter of the animal’s name, corresponds to a fox and three pups. The final double-page spread shows all the featured creatures and their babies as the last line declares: “Baby, I love you from A to Z!” The verse is standard fare and appropriately sentimental. The art is cartoony-cute and populated by suitably loving critters on solid backgrounds. Hearts accent each scene, but the theme of the project is never in any doubt.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2095-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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