Criminally diminishes the real Jackie Robinson’s dignity and grace in the face of enormous obstacles.
A board-book biography of “the first black yak to join a Major League Basebull team.”
Wordplay is usually a good thing. Introducing very young children to important historical, literary, or artistic figures is also a worthy goal. Unfortunately, this book (part of the Wild Bios series) fails on both accounts. The detailed biographical information is too long (four to five lines per page) for the young children who need sturdy board books. Nor will toddlers understand the extended metaphor derived from using the physical characteristics and behavior of the Himalayan ungulate to describe a change-maker as important as Jackie Robinson. Without adult explanations they will certainly not understand that this retelling parallels the life of an actual, very important human being. Accurate biographical information embedded in sentences that liken Robinson’s family to a “herd of five yaks, grazed by…a hardworking single yak” may seem like clever wordplay. But when applied to an African American who broke a significant color barrier in sports, it is just plain offensive. Playing with concepts requires prior understanding of the content. Toddlers lack this context. In the pictures, “Yakkie” and his “herd” are painted brown, with no attempt to overlay Robinson’s facial features on Yakkie’s; white yaks are pale versions of Yakkie.
Criminally diminishes the real Jackie Robinson’s dignity and grace in the face of enormous obstacles. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68412-913-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Silver Dolphin Books
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
