¡Bien hecho! Well done!
Five sea creatures, five flaps, 10 pages—just enough for a bilingual board book.
Starting with the title, the Spanish text always comes first, with the English translation below in a different color. The peekaboo theme is emphasized, with each left-hand page asking the same question: “¡Cucú! ¿Quién está ahi? / Peek a boo! Who’s there?” On the opposite page, an animal uses their flippers, tentacles, fins, or claws to cover their face. Shaped, full-page gatefolds always open to the right to create an extended spread with the original question, the answer in both Spanish and English, and a stylized image of the animal. The words stand out against color-saturated backgrounds. Each animal is shown and described in action: “dolphin splashing,” “octopus creeping,” “turtle swimming,” “seal diving,” and “crab digging.” Very quickly, even the youngest children will start repeating the question in both languages and manipulate the large, sturdy flaps. The action words are a stretch, but one difficult word and its translation is just right for toddlers. There is no pronunciation guide for readers not conversant with Spanish, but the clear design and repetition make up for this minor gap. Hopefully the other titles in the series—Peekaboo! On the Farm, In the Jungle, and In the Snow (all 2016)—will also be rereleased in bilingual editions.
¡Bien hecho! Well done! (Board book. 6 mos.-2)Pub Date: April 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-78628-553-9
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Child's Play
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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
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
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