In this debut kids’ book featuring colorful, highly detailed illustrations, a young girl must find her four lost siblings.
The Cute family consists of Mr. and Mrs. Cute and their five children. Early on, the book offer brief introductions of each child; for example, “Cammy loves everything that’s cute, and is crazy about animals,” while “Cade loves to read and figure out scientific facts.” Mr. and Mrs. Cute go out for the day and ask their 12-year-old daughter, Carissa, to keep an eye on her younger siblings. But there’s a problem: Carissa gets busy texting her friends and forgets to watch them—and her adventure-seeking brothers and sisters run off. The book then asks readers to help Carissa find them in 12 havoc-packed scenes. Among the places where Carissa must seek out her charges are a birthday party, a fair, a campground, a supermarket and a toy store. Adding to the fun is a host of humorous visual touches on each page, such as a boy with a fake fin on his head in a swimming pool, a group of children hypnotized by a picture of a black-and-white spiral, a frog in a pond doing the backstroke and a smiling pelican holding his great beak open for a boy to look inside. An art-studio setting features a wall of famous paintings that some children may recognize. Halfway through the book, the Cute family gathers at the dinner table, where the kids discuss their favorite experiences thus far; unfortunately, Celestial Noot’s stiff prose simply doesn’t do justice to Vincent Noot’s fine illustrations: “I loved the petting zoo. There were lots of animals there. I rode a horsey, I caught a frog, and I pet the sheep. They are so fluffy!” To keep young readers busy, however, there’s a list of items to find on each page; a handy answer section at the back shows the locations of all the children and items. If only Mr. and Mrs. Cute had a book like this to keep their pack from wandering.
A fun, engaging seek-and-find book despite its awkward prose.
Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2014
ISBN: 978-0991441501
Page Count: 36
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Nov. 29, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This should send Dark Knight fans flying to the Batcave—or the bedroom.
Holy bedtime, Batman!
In a sleepy-looking neighborhood under a dusky cerulean sky, a young, brown-haired, white boy goes through the motions of getting ready for bed: he brushes his teeth, takes a bath, picks up his toys, and feeds his fish. In a parallel visual narrative, beckoned by the cat's-eye–yellow bat-signal, Batman keeps Gotham safe for another night by catching crooks, locking them away, and avenging those who have been wronged. Though the two characters are quite different, through a carefully flexible narrative, Dahl and Beavers weave a convincing tale of just how similar they might be. “It’s time to take care of business” describes the child’s trip to the potty and Batman’s dive down a manhole equally well, for instance. Beavers' art is visually striking and vibrantly hued, perfect for keeping young eyes glued to each page. Dahl's economical text is cadenced with a gentle lilt, just right for a bedtime read-aloud. Young fans of the caped crusader will delight in spying their favorite characters. In the already-overstuffed bedtime-book market, this is certainly a niche read, but it hits its mark well, delivering fun without darkness. A “bedtime checklist” at the end aptly includes “story time.”
This should send Dark Knight fans flying to the Batcave—or the bedroom. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-62370-732-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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