A peppy concept book for small children enamored of these lovable critters.
A most amusing exploration of all things color.
The Smushkins—big-eyed animals with an endless supply of energy—highlight an array of different hues as they take part in everyday activities. A hippolike creature holding a long mop removes the grime from a window as Rueda’s text reads “wipe / wipe” in a font that increases in size. Turn the page to see our Smushkin lounging with a drink, with the “blue!” sky now clearly visible through the window. A birdlike critter twirls cotton candy until the entire page is awash in “pink!” A pair of friends leap into the mud until they’re up to their eyeballs in dirt: “brown!” These creatures and their lowkey trials and tribulations have a Moomin-like vibe. Clutching an umbrella, a Smushkin with long, rabbitlike ears picks up the pace as clouds loom ominously: “gray!” Sometimes the Smushkins paint themselves into corners (“purple!”); sometimes they knit overwhelmingly big and strange creations (“orange!”). The text is minimal, limited to a word or two per page; these gags are entirely visual and always gentle. The denouement brings the full cast back together, streamers in each Smushkin hand.
A peppy concept book for small children enamored of these lovable critters. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781536236590
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.
You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!
What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0534-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
There is always room in the Easter basket for a counting book, and many readers may appreciate having another simple,...
A cheerful brown bunny hiding behind the edges of an Easter basket looks just as surprised as young children will be to find the chicks revealed as each egg “hatches.”
With help from a reading partner, young children are encouraged to count down the eggs as they disappear with each page turn. Alternatively, they can count up as the chicks are revealed. A simple phrase at the top of each right-hand page states the number of eggs in the basket. The line at the bottom (half of a rhyming couplet) tells how many chicks readers should look for. The numbers are spelled out, requiring young children to recognize the word instead of the more familiar numeral. On the left-hand page, the spaces previously occupied by an egg begin to fill with meadow plants and critters, eventually becoming a scene as busy and cheerful as a greeting card. This book begs to be touched. Each egg is made of shaped plastic that protrudes through die-cut holes on the verso; they can be pressed but seem to be securely anchored. The pastel chicks are lightly flocked, providing an additional tactile experience. Although the pages are thicker than paper, young fingers may find the holes a convenient way to grip (and possibly tear) the pages.
There is always room in the Easter basket for a counting book, and many readers may appreciate having another simple, nonreligious holiday book. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-74730-1
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
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