A serene and lovely presentation.
Carter’s latest stop on his ongoing seasonal cycle offers pop-up pumpkins, corn, and other signs of mellow fruitfulness.
As in his Winter (2015) and Spring (2016), each opening presents a small, flat landscape dominated by a central pop-up, with scattered specimens of flora, insects, birds, and other wildlife—with identifying labels for most everything, even clouds—and leading questions below: “Who nibbles the water plants?” “Who hunts from the sky?” The setting is unspecified but has the look of the western United States, with glimpses of bison, California chicory, sockeye salmon, and a ringtail visible in various scenes, and a house visible in the distance that looks North American or European. Persimmons and pomegranates on the final spread broaden the general sense of locale a bit, though, and only early mention of “a chill in the air” pins the narrative to particular latitudes. Barred clouds (“altocumulus”) bloom on a soft dying day before the final observation that “Winter is coming; it’s time to harvest.”
A serene and lovely presentation. (Informational pop-up picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2535-7
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2017
May appeal to kids who like visual puzzles but a bit too two-dimensional to generate much excitement.
Triangles combine to hint at various creatures.
The book is composed of a sequence of colorful spreads whose imagery consists of collaged shapes on backgrounds with a texture resembling soft paper. Forests are represented by green triangles of varying hues, the ocean by blue shapes, and the savanna by orange and brown. Each spread contains a constellation of different-sized equilateral triangles representing a few features of an animal—nose, eyes, ears, horns, tusks—hinted at in a brief rhyming riddle. Some of the animals are relatively easy to guess (a fox, a toothy shark), but some are not. In some cases the conceit is far-fetched, as in “The rings around my eyes / might seem like a disguise. / Can you see me?” There is a clear disconnect in depicting a raccoon’s mask as triangles, as there is in showing an owl’s round eyes as triangles. In some images the mystery animal is represented in profile, which may be difficult for some children, and in others the shapes are so sparse as to be highly challenging to interpret. The focus on triangles may limit the interest the book generates for children once they’ve guessed which animal is represented. Those inclined to give up will regret the absence of a picture key.
May appeal to kids who like visual puzzles but a bit too two-dimensional to generate much excitement. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5248-5372-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
A straightforward and lively introduction to the democratic process for readers older than babies.
Baby learns about the elections in this latest entry to the Baby Loves… series.
A toddler with light-brown skin works with her white mommy to color signs and put stamps on postcards to get out the vote, and she cheers Mommy on when she “puts the ballot into the machine.” Along the way, Baby explores key aspects of the political process with her white mom and another, brown-skinned caregiver, such as campaigning, candidates, and the different types of political leaders. It is a simplified and rosy picture of American democracy, asserting confidently that the “candidate with the most votes wins,” and political opponents “can still be friends” after an election. The art is a toddler-centric, idealized world in a bold, bright cartoon style featuring political candidates from a wide range of backgrounds. There is a female-presenting president, a black, male-presenting vice president, a brown-skinned, hijabi senator, and a white, male-presenting representative who uses a wheelchair. While the explanations, imagery, and suggested activities are spot-on for older preschoolers, the format and the “baby” label make the content developmentally inappropriate for the target audience of babies and toddlers. Little ones still learning to label things in their homes and their neighborhoods will be hard-pressed to understand the basics of civic engagement.
A straightforward and lively introduction to the democratic process for readers older than babies. (Board book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-62354-227-6
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
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