Appealing illustrations and minimal, repetitive text make this ideal for toddlers.
A cat engages in typical feline behavior before settling in for a snuggle.
Blue Cat smiles out from the cover. Blue Cat’s fur has a textured, almost stuccolike look, and the character’s edges are slightly blurred, creating a sense of softness. Inside, the illustrations have a collage-style appearance and folk-art feel. Some items in the pictures are textured like Blue Cat, others have crosshatching, both fine (the floor) and coarse (yarn balls). Still others, such as the wallpaper and curtains, are smooth, with small repeating patterns. These echo the designs on the front (floral) and back (hearts and cherries) endpapers. The brief text consists of short declarative sentences, most starting with “Blue Cat” and including just one other word: “Blue Cat lounges…stretches…swats,” etc. After taking a flying leap at the fish bowl and spending some time being petted (as the fish gives Blue Cat serious side-eye), Blue Cat hears something and takes off again. Readers will likely be surprised to discover that Blue Cat should more accurately be called Blue Kitten, as is clear in comparison with the much larger (bright red) Mama Cat. The brevity and predictability of the text suggest that this would be most suitable for toddlers. Older listeners might be happier with Kathi Appelt and Penelope Dullaghan’s more energetic and equally blue Max (Max Attacks, 2019).
Appealing illustrations and minimal, repetitive text make this ideal for toddlers. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-63592-134-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: StarBerry Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery.
A troop of cats traverse a spooky landscape as they make their way to a party hosted by ghosts.
Each double-page spread shows the felines’ encounters with the likes of an owl, jack-o’-lanterns or a bat. One or two of these creepy meetings may be too abstract for the youngest readers, as the cats hear eerie noises with no discernible source on the page. The text, which consists of one rhyming couplet per scene, mostly scans despite a couple of wobbles: “Five black cats get a bit of a scare / As the flip-flapping wings of a bat fill the air.” The sleek, slightly retro art, likely created using a computer, depicts the cats cavorting at night through a shadowy cityscape, the countryside and a haunted house; they may scare some toddlers and delight others. A brighter color palette would have given the project a friendlier, more universal appeal. Luckily, the well-lit, final party scene provides a playful conclusion.
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58925-611-8
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
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