A clear message with a developmentally appropriate approach.
“All over the world, if you look, you will find / there are all kinds of thank-yous for all kinds of kind.”
This chipper board book offers ways to express gratitude, from saying thank you to giving a hug to drawing a picture. The rhyming text keeps the pages turning, and the concise explanations make the book appropriate for little ones. The illustrations depict children and adults with a wide range of skin tones, hair colors and textures, and abilities. Characters thank a crossing guard for helping them make their way across the street, a child thanks a veterinarian for treating their cat, and another little one thanks a grown-up for braiding their hair. All of the people are drawn with simple faces, two dark circles for the eyes, a single-line nose, and sometimes rosy cheeks. While the art doesn’t make room for a detailed range of expressions, it does the job. The message that a thank you comes from inside and can be shared in many forms is straightforward yet incredibly important. This one will work well in the hands of a young child but also as a tool for educators and caregivers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A clear message with a developmentally appropriate approach. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66590-292-2
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
Fun format; bland text.
A hefty board book filled with ruminations on the nature of love.
While love is the topic of this board book, it’s the inventive gatefolds and charmingly vintage illustrations that readers will fall for. Brimming with sweeping declarations along the lines of “Love is / strong. // You have my back and I’ll always have yours,” the text sounds like a series of greeting cards strung together. It’s benign enough, but are most toddlers interested in generic proclamations about love? Some statements, like the ones on “unsinkable” hippos or a panda parent holding a cub “steady,” could introduce new vocabulary. At least there’s plenty of winsome critters to fawn over as the surprisingly sturdy flaps tell dramatic little ministories for each cartoon-style animal species. A downcast baby giraffe looks longingly up at a too-high tasty branch; lift a flap to bring an adult giraffe—and the delicacy—down to the baby, or watch an adventurous young fox retreat into a fold-down–flap burrow to learn that “my heart will always be home with you.” At points, the pages are tricky to turn in the correct order, but clever touches, like a series of folds that slow readers down to a sloth’s speed, make up for it. The book concludes with a gatefold revealing a vibrant playground populated with racially and ethnically diverse humans; two are wheelchair users.
Fun format; bland text. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3153-2
Page Count: 84
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
A good choice for caregivers looking for a positive, uncomplicated introduction to a new baby that focuses on everything an...
A little boy exults in his new role as big brother.
Rhyming text describes the arrival of a new baby and all of the big brother’s rewarding new duties. He gets to help with feedings, diaper changes, playtime, bathtime, and naptime. Though the rhyming couplets can sometimes feel a bit forced and awkward, the sentiment is sweet, as the focus here never veers from the excitement and love a little boy feels for his tiny new sibling. The charming, uncluttered illustrations convincingly depict the growing bond between this fair-skinned, rosy-cheeked, smiling pair of boys. In the final pages, the parents, heretofore kept mostly out of view, are pictured holding the children. The accompanying text reads: “Mommy, Daddy, baby, me. / We love each other—a family!” In companion volume I Am a Big Sister, the little boy is replaced with a little girl with bows in her hair. Some of the colors and patterns in the illustrations are slightly altered, but it is essentially the same title.
A good choice for caregivers looking for a positive, uncomplicated introduction to a new baby that focuses on everything an older sibling can do to help. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-68886-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
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