A valuable retrospective to be appreciated by young readers, art scholars, and gift book lovers alike.
Piatti, the late great Swiss graphic artist and illustrator, was no one-trick pony.
Known internationally for his iconic graphic design, Piatti’s lesser-known work as a picture-book illustrator takes center stage in this omnibus, the first ever to combine in one volume seven picture books illustrated at the pinnacle of his career. Readers witness the spectrum of Piatti’s artistic style, particularly notable when comparing his approach to depicting animals, a common subject across all seven works. Some animals come to life with loose, bold brush strokes, while others are more detailed and subtle with washes of watercolors. The color palette varies by story, yet all boast a distinct ’60s or ’70s sensibility. The stories cover a wide range of topics, from original animal fables and an alphabetic animal menagerie featuring haikulike poems to the Christian Nativity story and a slice-of-life tale featuring a traveling circus. Thick lines and vibrant, glowing colors combine with satisfying textures, making each magnificent animal seem like a work of stained-glass art. Although the focus of the book is the artwork, it also succeeds as a triumph of translation; in the story Animal ABC, translators Beaton and Reid maintain consistency across over 20 rhyming poems. Unfortunately, the gender stereotypes and some of the moral attitudes of Piatti’s day will not resonate with audiences today.
A valuable retrospective to be appreciated by young readers, art scholars, and gift book lovers alike. (Picture book. 4-adult)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4475-9
Page Count: 216
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
The greeting-card art and jokey rhymes work for the baby-shower market but not for the youngest readers.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring through rhymed puns and sentimental art.
The title sets the scene for what’s to come: The owl asks the owlet as they fly together, “WHOO loves you?”; the kangaroo and joey make each other “very HOPPY”; and the lioness and cub are a “PURRRFECT pair.” Most of the puns are both unimaginative and groanworthy, and they are likely to go over the heads of toddlers, who are not know for their wordplay abilities. The text is set in abcb quatrains split over two double-page spreads. On each spread, one couplet appears on the verso within a lightly decorated border on pastel pages. On the recto, a full-bleed portrait of the animal and baby appears in softly colored and cozy images. Hearts are prominent on every page, floating between the parent and baby as if it is necessary to show the love between each pair. Although these critters are depicted in mistily conceived natural habitats and are unclothed, they are human stand-ins through and through.
The greeting-card art and jokey rhymes work for the baby-shower market but not for the youngest readers. (Board book. 6 mos-2)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-1374-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.
Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.
This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-93809-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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