McPhail's soft but unsentimental pen-and-ink drawings completed with muted watercolors strike a pleasant balance between...
Following the formula established in Ben Loves Bear (2013), Bella Loves Bunny (2013), and Peter Loves Penguin (2014), McPhail here completes his board-book tour of the seasons.
A little girl moves through an autumn day with her well-loved stuffed owl, picking apples and playing in piles of colorful leaves. Tired after this simple adventure, Olivia goes inside to wish upon a star and drift off to sleep, guarded by her vigilant friend roosting at the foot of the bed. Simple text contrasts Olivia’s and Owl's activities. That the owl is a toy is initially unclear, but any child who has a beloved stuffed companion will quickly recognize the bond between the two. Unlike the other children featured in the series, who are all blond and white, Olivia's race and ethnicity are unclear. Her skin is light brown; her dark brown hair is pulled into thick, curly pigtails. Her toys, shown on the first spread, are refreshingly androgynous. Apparently she plays with trucks and blocks as well as dolls and stuffed animals. These choices make this offering accessible to a broad range of children. The image of Olivia reading in bed before drifting off to sleep will warm the hearts of book-loving adults.
McPhail's soft but unsentimental pen-and-ink drawings completed with muted watercolors strike a pleasant balance between real toddler activities and imaginative play. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2127-4
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.
As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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